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lONEER PRESS

FALLS

ILLUSTRATED

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% Buffalo's Great Department House |

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% EVERYTHING FOR WEAR %

I EVERYTHING FOR THE HOME '%

I The largest store between New |

I York and Chicago. No visit to the |

\ Pan-American City is complete with- |

% out calling at this store. A cordial %

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% Queen City of the Lakes. No matter %

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«/ where your home is, if you are |

I among our customers, you are a |

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I The Wm. Hengerer Co. |

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Great Gorge Route

THE MOST MAGNIFICENT SCENIC ROUTE
IN THE WORLD

Running through the Grand Canon of Niagara close to the
water's edge at the foot of towering cHffs. The only way to see
the Great Niagara Gorge, the wonderful Whirljjool Rapids, the
Grand Whirlpool, the picturesque Devil's Hole Rapids, and the
whole series of magnificent pictures in Niagara's wonderland
below the Falls.

" One always experiences a vivid emotion from the sight of the Rapids,
no matter how often one sees them. * * * i had schooled myself for
great impressions, but I had not counted upon the Rapids taking me by
the throat, as it were, and making my heart stop. I still think that the
Rapids are the most striking part of the spectacle."

— William Dean Howells,

Cars leave Prospect Park, Niagara Falls, every fifteen min-
utes, passing all the principal hotels, and railroad stations for
Lewiston, where connections are made with Niagara River
Line Steamers for Toronto and all Canadian points.

GODFREY MORGAN, General Manager, WM. KELLY, Jr.. General Pass'r Agent,
NIAGARA FALLS, N. Y.

YOUNG MEN
AND WOMEN

who desire to attend the

Pan-American Exposition

and at the same time prepare themselves for a

GOOD POSITION

should investigate the advantages offered by

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95 West Genesee Street, BUFFALO, N. Y.

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It is the only "REGISTERED" Business College in Western New
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Et^= Thorough Courses also given by Mail, at Student's Home.

TO THE GOLDEN WEST

Cheap Rates to California,
Oregon, Washington,
and Colorado.

Our business is the shipping of household
goods to and from the above States at
greatly reduced rates. As the goods are
all shipped in our through cars, they do not
get the severe handling that they would if
shipped in the usual wa}^, consequently they
reach their destination in very much better
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TRANS-CONTINENTAL
FREIGHT CO.,

38 Market St., CHICAGO, ILL
244 S. Broadway, LOS ANGELES, CAL.
722 Mission St., SAN FRANCISCO, CAL.
1506 Welton St., DENVER, COLO.

4/

THE PIOIS^EEE PBESS

HAND-BOOK

TO THE

PAN-AMERICAN EXPOSITION

BUFFALO

AND

NIAGARA FALLS

ILL USTRATED

Chicago akd New York:
RAND, McNALLY & COMPANY,

PUBLISHERS.

THE LIBRARY OF

CONGRESS,
Two Cowea RecEfvED

MAY. 16 1901

Copyright entry

CLASS <5UxXc. N«.

COPY B.

Copyright, 1899. by Kand. McXally & Company.
Copyright. 1901, by Rand, ]McNally & Company.

^^'

Buffalo.

THE CITY OF BUFFALO.

TT WAS on the seventh day of
^ August, 1679, that Father Hen-
nepin, the celebrated Franciscan

missionary, set foot on the shore

of Lake Erie, near the spot where is now the flourishing
city of Buffalo. With his company of thirty-four men, he
had come down from Squaw Island, where his little explor-
ing vessel, the Griffin, had been built by La Salle. After
celebrating mass, and amid the pious intonations of
the sailors, the worthy father had proceeded on his
voyage of exploration and proselytizing. Thus the

6 > Buffalo.

future city received its baptism at the hands of those re-
markable men, the early French missionaries, who pos-
sessed, in large degree, the qualities of adventurer, explorer,
and churchman. In 1687, Baron La Hontan followed, and
in his celebrated expedition through this region his trained
military eye saw the advantages which the site possessed
for a stronghold, and in his journal we find the spot marked
upon his map as "Fort Suppose;" but the bold Baron's
supposition was not realized until a much later date. The
surrounding region was dominated by the Senecas, that
courageous and warlike tribe, who kept in check their
less numerous and less belligerent neighbors of the Five
Nations. Slowly and by degrees a few white men found
their way to Buffalo Creek in search of peltries, and the
"Old French War" gradually reduced in numbers the power-
ful confederation of the Five Nations, The devastating
expedition of General Sullivan during the Revolutionary
War almost exterminated the once powerful tribes, and
the long and severe winter of 1779-80 completed that work.
A remnant of the Senecas and other tribes sought the
shelter of Fort Niagara, carrying with them several white
captives, men, women, and children, whom they compelled
to work in the fields, and who appear to have been the
first white inhabitants of that neighborhood, if we can
except the British garrison at Fort Niagara. The captives
could hardly be called settlers, as they were not by any
means attracted to the spot by their own free will, and
escaped whenever opportunity offered. Soon after the
events just related, however, the first genuine white settlers
built their cabins on Buffalo Creek. To William Johnston,
son of Sir William Johnston, and his Indian wife, Molly
Brant, a sister of the famous chieftain, Joseph Brant, be-
longs the honor of first holding in possession the ground
at the mouth of Buffalo Creek, which, in the year 1781,
by reason of his influence and address, he obtained from
the Indians, over whom he wielded great influence. Now
gathered a heterogeneous crowd of white adventurers, trad-

Buffalo. 7

ers and hunters, out of which unpromising material was
hatched the village of Buffalo.

CONFLICTING TITLES TO THE SITE.

The importance of the value of the country forming
Western New York after the Revolutionary War is best
seen in the scramble for possession between the Indians,
or the Six Nations, on one hand, and the General Govern-
ment, the States of New York and Massachusetts on the
other, not to speak of the numerous private interests seek-

ivlabien Hdrk High School.

ing control. Treaty after treaty, concession after concession,
were made, until finally, in 1797, the lands passed into the
hands of the Holland Land Company. They consisted of
four tracts, described in as many deeds. The Indian title
to these lands was finally extinguished, in that year, at a
council at Geneseo, and the ownership of the site of Buffalo
passed practically to Holland. With a resident agency at
Batavia, N. Y., the Holland Land Company proceeded, by
circulars and otherwise, to people their tracts. Joseph

i

8 ■ Buffalo.

Ellicott was the first agent, and for his labors in opening
up for settlement and occupancy the land now forming the
city of Buffalo, he has been called the "Romulus of Buffalo."
In 1795, the first tavern, that beacon of cities, was estab-
lished by John Palmer. It was a two-story log house
on the terrace nearly opposite Exchange Street, and a few
rods west of Main. Its first distinguished guest was the
Due de Rochefoucauld Liancourt, then on his travels, who
records that he "ate a very indifferent supper," and was
obliged to sleep on the floor; but, having evidently become
used to hard fare and scant accommodations, he naiyely
adds, "we slept as soundly as we had done in the woods."
Among the first to seek residence in Buffalo after Elli-
cott's survey was Dr. Cyrenius Chapin, an able young
physician, who visited the village in 1801, and made it his
home for life in 1805. He was held in high esteem by his
fellow citizens, who in 1836 presented him with a silver
service as a testimonial of their appreciation for his en-
deavors, both in peace and war.

GROWTH OF THE VILLAGE.

Almost imperceptibly but steadily the town began to
enlarge. The Land Company disposed rapidly of their
lots at prices ranging from $120 to $400 each. At this time
land beyond Chippewa Street, on Main, was selling for $11
and $12 per acre. The first death in the young community
occurred in 1804, when John Cochrane, a migratory Yankee
from the land of steady habits, departed this life, and was
buried in the little cemetery, laid out by William Johnston,
on land belonging to him, now covered by the building
known as the Washington Block.

In 1807, William Johnston, so long identified with the
settlement, died at the ripe age of sixty-five, and was buried
in the cemetery which he himself had provided. He left a
son, John, a young man educated at Yale, and of exemplary
conduct. About this time the first religious society was
formed, under the ministration of Rev. Thaddeus Osgood,

(9)

10 Buffalo.

assisted by Deacon Callender, who officiated in the ab-
sence of a clergyman.

In 1808 the County of Niagara was erected, embracing all
the territory of the present counties of Erie and Niagara,
Buffalo being made the county seat. This assured per-
manent prestige to the little town, and gave it immeasurable
prominence over its lusty though ephemeral rival opposite
Squaw Island. The first court was holden in Joseph Lan-
don's tavern— now the Mansion House. Augustus Porter,
one of Ellicott's lieutenants, was made judge, his associates
being Samuel Tupper, Erastus Granger, James Brooks, and
Zattu Gushing, with Asa Ransom, sheriff, and Louis Le
Couteulx, clerk. The attorneys in Niagara (Erie) Gounty at
that time were Ebenezer Walden, Jonas Harrison, Truman
Smith, John Root, Heman B. Potter, Alvin Sharpe, Bates
Gook, and Philo Andrus. The first courthouse and jail
stood on Washington Street, the former facing Lafayette
Square, and the latter near Clinton Street. The jail was
surrounded by a wooden stockade, fourteen to sixteen feet
high, like a frontier fort.

In 1805 Erastus Granger was appointed collector for the
"District of Buffalo Greek." Prior to this time this terri-
tory was in the District of Presque Isle, Detroit, of which
General William Irvine was collector.

The first newspaper in Buffalo, the "Buffalo Gazette,"
was issued on the third day of October, 1811, by the brothers
Smith H. and Hezekiah A. Salisbury. Established just be-
fore the War of 1812, its columns furnished not only a true
relation but a historical guide to the campaign on the
lakes and our northern border during that stirring period.

Among the early merchants and traders who made their
headquarters at Buffalo were Messrs. Juba Storrs and Ben-
jamin Caryl. Originally educated for the bar, Mr. Storrs
soon forsook the legal profession, and in 1809 established
himself in business at Buffalo, with Mr. Caryl as partner.
The firm was properous, and had branches at outlying
towns in New York, Pennsylvania and Canada.

(11)

IJJ Buffalo.

Thus the settlement from small and humble beginnings
took on the appearance of a town, with all the resources
and conveniences of urban life at that period. Mention
may here be made of the Old Ferry at Black Rock, which
for years was the only landing-place or wharf. The rock
was at the foot of what since has been called Fort Street,
and was about one hundred feet broad at its northern end,
and ran southeasterly in toward the bank for a distance
of three hundred feet. It was about four or five feet high,
and was regarded as the safest and best landing-place above
the Falls. To the Indians the Land Company conceded the
perpetual right of fishing at this place, but the blowing
up of the rock by DeWitt Clinton's engineers in 1825 caused
this privilege to fall into desuetude.

BUFFALO IN 1812.

By some the War of 1812 is regarded as a war of small
consequence, but students of history and thinkers recog-
nize the fact that it forever settled the question of British
domination over what is now our northern border. From
Revolutionary times the frontier question had been an un-
settled and aggravating one, but at the conclusion of the
war this vexed question was settled at once and for all
time. It is not necessary here to relate the causes of the
war, but to record the share — a most important one — which
Buffalo bore in this memorable event. Hostilities between
Great Britain and the United States were declared by Con-
gress on the 18th of June, 1812, a day after the obnoxious
"Orders in Council," one of the principal causes of the war,
had been withdrawn by the British Parliament. Had the
science of electricity progressed as far at that period as it
did years later, the war might have been averted and thou-
sands of lives and millions of dollars been saved to both
sides. As early as May of 1812, recruiting had been actively
carried on in Buffalo by a United States army oflEicer. He
promised to those who would sign for five years one hun-
dred and sixty acres of land, three months' extra pay and

Buffalo.

13

a bounty of $16. A number of persons responded, but
a great deal of their martial fervor oozed away be-
fore a shot was fired. The first marine capture on the
lakes was made by a party of British soldiers who
moved across from Fort Erie in two boats on June 27,
1812, and seized the salt schooner Connecticut, which lay
at anchor off Buffalo. On June 29th, Hon. Erastus Granger,
the Indian agent, held a council with the chief men of

Grosvenor Library.

the Six Nations and was assured by them of their friendli-
ness to the American cause. Gen. William Wadsworth was
the first commander of the forces on the frontier, but was
quickly superseded by Gen. Amos Hull, of Ontario County,
who in turn was followed by Maj.-Gen. Stephen Van Rens-
selaer, under whose energetic command immediate steps
were taken to fortify the town. An inspection of his forces
and supplies revealed anything but a satisfactory state of
affairs, but, nothing daunted. General Van Rensselaer set
2

14 ' Buffalo.

about to strengthen his line, which was thirty-six miles
long, but occupying an admirable natural position for de-
fense. The Indians, aroused by the rumor that Grand
Island was invaded, declared war against Canada, in the
only document of the kind ever issued by North American
Indians, so far as researches and information go. The
news of General Hull's surrender at Detroit reached Buf-
falo on July 17th, and filled the little camp with apprehen-
sion but not dismay, as a feeling of indignation arose
among the soldiers at the man who had disgraced his coun-
try and laid down his arms without firing a shot. This feel-
ing to retrieve the dishonor only multiplied Van Rensse-
laer's difficulties, as he did not feel that his force was strong
enough to invade Canada and strike Brock's army, as it
would leave Buffalo exposed to the victorious and elated
British troops at Detroit. Pursuing a Fabian policy, he
waited until autumn, when reinforcements reached him to
the number of several thousand men, consisting mainly
of Pennsylvanians. The first real action took place on
August 9th, when a gallant and successful attempt was
made to cut out the British brig Adams, and the North-
western Company's schooner Caledonia, which lay under
the protection of the guns of Fort Erie.

The idea was suggested by the old Seneca chief. Farm-
er's Brother, and under the command of Lieut. Jesse D.
Elliott, of the United States Navy, who had about one hun-
dred men under him, the attempt was made at night, the
expedition being in three boats, and was a complete sur-
prise to the non-vigilant Britishers on board the vessels,
who found themselves prisoners to the Americans on being
rudely awakened from their slumbers. Lieutenant Elliott was
afterward in command of the Niagara in Perry's immortal
victory on Lake Erie, and succeeded that illustrious sailor
in the command of the lake squadron. The British retal-
iated by bombarding Black Rock.

Although on September 1st General Van Rensselaer had
only six hundred and ninety-one men fit for duty, by Octo-

Buffalo. 15

ber 12th his force numbered five thousand two hundred and
six. To the officially unexpressed, yet directly intimated,
wishes of high authorities, he at last decided to make a
descent on Canada. The time seemed propitious, and
Queenstown was the objective point to land his forces.
The passage across the river was delayed through various
blunders of his subordinates, but finally, on the night of
October 13-14, he crossed with a small force, and reached the
opposite bank through the midst of the heavy fire of the
enemy, who had discovered his approach. A determined
stand was made by General Brock, in command of the Brit-
ish forces at Queenstown, but the Americans, smarting
under the defeat at Detroit, carried the heights at all points,
and the officers were congratulating themselves on the aus-
picious result, when, to their great astonishment, they found
their men in a state of dire demoralization, caused by the
sight of advancing British regulars. All attempts to rally
them proving futile, a retreat was ordered, which culmin-
ated in a general sauve qui pent. Only a small number of
the invaders succeeded in regaining the American shore
the rest being killed or captured. The disaster at Queens-
town led to the removal of General Van Rensselaer, who was
superseded by Gen. Alexander Smyth, United States Army,
who had a short time before been sent to assist Van Rens-
selaer, but who had remained inactive at Buffalo, with a
force of thirteen hundred regulars. Upon assuming com-
mand General Smyth issued a bumptious proclamation calling
upon volunteers to join his army and conquer Canada.
After two unsuccessful attempts to invade Canada, caused
by his lack of military prevision, the idea was given up and
the forces dispersed to their homes. For this failure General
Smyth was lampooned from one end of the country to
the other, and his proclamations parodied in prose and
verse. He was legislated out of the army, and afterward
represented his district in Congress, where he became cele-
brated by reason of his long-winded speeches. Upon one
occasion, when, as usual, the majority of .the members

Soldiers' Monument, Lafayette Paik.
(16)

Buffalo. 17

had left the hall, while delivering a speech, he exclaimed:
"Gentlemen can retire if they please; I do not wish them
to hear me unless they choose; I do not speak to the
members on the floor merely, but to posterity." Upon
which an old member, sitting resignedly in his seat, re-
plied: "Go on, sir; go on. Your audience will be here
before you get through."

In 1813 occurred the glorious victories of Perry on Lake
Erie and the battles of Lundy's Lane and Chippewa. Out
of reprisal for the burning of Newark, in Canada, by Colonel
McClure, a large force of British and Indian allies landed
at Black Rock and sacked the. town. With the battle of
New Orleans, on January 8, 1814, the war ended.

BUFFALO REDIVIVUS.

During 1814, despite the war, the citizens of Buffalo had
gradually returned, and the work of rebuilding the sacked
town was actively carried on. A brick-yard was started
and more substantial structures were erected. In 1816 the
town had two newspapers, several churches, and a bank,
but was not yet out of the woods; for in that year the
Town Council offered a reward of $5 for the scalp of each
wolf caught in the town.

The great event of 1818 was the launch of the Walk-
in-the-Watcr, the first steamer to ply the lakes. She was
built at Black Rock, in spite of the jealousy of Buffalo,
and on May 28th glided off the ways amid great rejoicing.
She plied between Buffalo and Detroit until 1821, when she
was wrecked near the lighthouse. Erie County was sep-
arated from Niagara in April, 1821, in which year a theater
was established in Buffalo. About this time a humble
young pedagogue was teaching the young idea how to
shoot at Cold Spring. He subsequently rose to a higher,
if not nobler, sphere. His name was Millard Fillmore, the
thirteenth President of the United States.

On August 9, 1823, ground was broken for the commence-
ment of the Erie Canal, near the Commercial Street bridge.

18

Buffalo

amid loud acclamations, tlie blare of music, and the salute
of cannon. The chief citizens shoveled, a procession fol-
lowed the contractor's plows, and refreshments were par-
taken of. The year 1825 was an eventful year for the future
great city on Lake Erie. The population in January of
that year numbered 2,412. There were four newspapers
and the village boasted nearly five hundred buildings. Still
all east of Washington Street was an almost inaccessible
morass, while west of Franklin Street and north of Chip-
pewa the forest primeval remained. Marquis de Lafayette

Boat House, Delaware Park.

visited the town on June 4th, it being specially decorated
and illuminated for the occasion. An address of welcome,
parades, and a reception formed the main features of his
stay. Red Jacket, the brave and faithful ally of the Amer-
icans, was present, a committee having kept him free from
intoxicants during the Marquis' presence in the town. A
unique event was the purchase of seventeen thousand acres
of land on Grand Island by Major Mordecai Noah, of New
York, a celebrated journalist of that day. His purpose was
to afford the Jews of Christendom a refuge. He announced

(19)

20 ' Buffalo.

himself as Judge of Israel, and on September 2d a corner-
stone was laid with imposing religious ceremonies and
addresses. The scheme, however, came to naught.

The completion of the Erie Canal marked the beginning
of Buffalo's present prosperity.

TOPOGRAPHICAL.

Buffalo, the Queen City of the Lakes, stands at the
eastern extremity of Lake Erie, at the head of Niagara
River, and within easy reach of the sublime scenery of
Niagara Falls. The mouth of Buffalo River, a fine natural
harbor in itself, has been improved and deepened. It is
protected by a break- water, and in 1869 the United States
Government began the construction of an outside harbor.
This structure was originally 4,000 feet long. It fronts the
entrance of the river about half a mile from the shore.
In 1893, 806 feet were added. The River and Harbor Act
of August 17, 1894, made provision for surveying and
preparing a plan for extending the outer break-water south-
easterly. This plan is now being carried out and will add
greatly to the convenience and capacity of the harbor.

CLIMATOLOGICAL.

Buffalo has a right to be proud of possessing one of
the most equable climates in the United States. The tem-
perature very rarely falls more than ten degrees below
zero. The lake, a natural storehouse of heat, considerably
modifies the low temperature. In summer only occasionally
has the thermometer touched ninety degrees, and then a
pleasant cooling breeze makes the heat bearable. But such
a temperature is the exception. The evenings are always
cool in summer no matter how hot the day may have been,
and it is always possible to sleep at night. Visitors ac-
customed to regions where not a breath of wind stirs the
heated air, or if it does, only intensifies the attendant
discomfort, often remark this agreeable feature of the
city's climate.

{21)

22 > Buffalo.

IN THE ENVIRONS.

As a summer resort the city has many advantages. The
water supply is pure and abundant and there are no dan-
gerous alternations of temperature. From the time when
the handsome chestnut trees, which, along with maples,
locusts, and other shade trees, adorn the principal streets,
open their blossoms in the spring, to late in October and
the Indian summer, the thoroughfares present a constant
charm. The resident in Buffalo is certain to become a
lover of nature. An hour will take him to the heart of
woods where flowers and ferns of every species grow in
rich profusion. At his gates is a lake teeming with fish,
and a river where the gamy black bass lurks, ready to be
lured by the skillful angler. Wherever one turns he is
astonished and thrilled by the beauty of the scene.

The city itself, keen, never-resting, rushing along in the
activities of commerce, delights the heart of the stranger
with the manner in which its broad-minded merchants
turn from the serious contests of business competition to
take part in some civic parade, to honor distinguished vis-
itors, or extend a hearty welcome to a world-wide order or a
convention of national importance. It is not alone Buffalo's
proximity to the Falls that makes it the rendezvous of
travelers and the delight of conventions. Its own excel-
lent and varied natural charms and the genuine good
fellowship and spontaneous hospitality of its citizens, to-
gether with the facility with which they practice the Hora-
tian maxim of mingling the pleasant and the useful, have
created in the hearts of those who have once visited it a
strong desire to return.

POPULATION.

In 1779 the first white man settled on the present site
of Buffalo. He established a store where the Mansion
House now stands, at the corner of Main and Exchange
streets. In 1810, when the first United States census was

Buffalo. 23

taken, the population of Niagara County was only 6,132.
In 1812, the population of Buffalo was about 1,500. In 1820
the population of Niagara County was 23,313, of which
15,668 was in the present county of Erie. The year 1825 saw
the population of the city mount to 2,412; five years later
it was 8,668; by 1850 it had reached 42,261; 1870 witnessed
the crossing of the 100,000 line, and in 1895, 335,709 was
the approximate population. According to the strict laws
which govern such increase the population of Buffalo, in
1901, the opening year of the new century, should number
the desired half million. The New York Tribune predicts
that Buffalo will have a million inhabitants within the
next ten years. The Chicago Tribune believes it will be-
come the manufacturing center of the nation.

The future of Buffalo is full of promise. Its citizens are
intelligent and enterprising. Few Northern cities have
such a large infusion of the German element. Much of
the city's progress and wealth is due to the industry, thrift,
economy, patient toil, and high intelligence of this part
of the population. Besides the dominant native Amer-
ican element there are quite a number of naturalized Brit-
ish subjects, including a large Irish population, not by
any means backward in the city's counsels and develop-
ment. The Polish section of the community is numerous,
but is chiefly made up of laborers. They form a colony on
the east side of the city, and have several places of wor-
ship, among them the spacious St. Adalbert's Polish Cath-
olic Church. The Italians are likewise in strong evidence.

THROUGH THE CITY.

On arriving at Buffalo by one of the twenty-nine rail-
ways that enter the city we find ourselves in the neigh-
borhood of Main and Exchange streets. If we have landed
at either the Erie or the New York Central Depot, we will
have an opportunity of seeing one of the many viaducts
which have been built to carry the streets over the rail-
ways. At this point Michigan Street is carried over Ex-

(24)

Buffalo

25

change Street. A very long and wide viaduct carries Seneca
Street over the railway tracks where Seneca Street meets
Fillmore Avenue. This is one of numerous recent improve-
ments of a like character.

Passing along Exchange Street with its restaurants and
ticket-brokers' offices, we leave the New Continental Hotel
behind us (rates $2 ^per day) at the corner of Michigan
Street, Further along is the Arlington at the corner of

Wells Street. (Rates, $2
per day.) The Broezel
House is at the corner of
Seneca, Wells, and Carroll
streets. Its rates are $2.50
to $3.50 per day. We then
catch a glimpse of the
Postoffice at the corner of
Seneca and Washington
streets. This building will
soon be abandoned. A
large new Postoffice has
been erected on the square
formed by Swan, EUicott,
South Division, and Oak
streets. On Washington
Street near Exchange is
the office of the Buffalo
Express, a leading daily

D. S. Morgan Building — Offices Metropolitan and Suuday UeWSpaper,

Life Insurance Company ^ jg^ g^^pg i^^ingy ^g ^-q

Main Street. On the southeast corner of Exchange and
Main stands the Mansion House (rates $2 and $3 per
day), an old established commercial and family hotel.
On entering Main Street and looking to the south,
we see the masts and funnels of the shipping at the
docks, indicating where the pleasure boats for the
neighboring resorts await their thronging passengers, and
where the larger vessels which traverse the mighty inland

26 > Buffalo.

seas to Chicago and Duluth are moored. Here, too, a con-
stant procession of freight vessels makes things lively with
the din of their whistles and sirens, while the new draw-
bridge at the foot of Michigan Street is kept in constant
motion to let them pass.

Eastward lies the region contained between Elk Street
and the Hamburg Canal, where the First Ward is sit-
uated with its large Irish population. Westward, on the
other side of Main Street, stretches Canal Street, once al-
most as famous as the Bowery of New York City, but
now retaining only a shadow of its former unenviable
reputation and prosperity.

To the north of Canal Street is the Terrace, running
from Main to Court streets, and largely occupied by the
tracks of the New York Central Railroad. At the Main
Street end stands the Liberty Pole, with its triumphant
eagle and the beloved flag of our country. The first pole
was of wood. Time, with gnawing tooth, destroyed it, and
a modern iron mast has taken its place; but the same old
eagle, gorgeous in a new coat of gold, perches on the top.
On this rather straggling thoroughfare are large manu-
factories, rag warehouses, and the Italian settlement.

Leaving this interesting but uncomfortable neighbor-
hood, we proceed up Main Street, past the Times newspaper
office. On the right are the Bank of Buffalo and the Manu-
facturers' and Traders' Bank, and the Courier and Enquirer
newspaper office on the left. Near here is the Wm. Hen-
gerer Company, an important house doing both wholesale
and retail business in dry goods. In this quarter, too, is
the News, a daily and Sunday newspaper. From this point
onward Main Street is a succession of handsome and thriv-
ing stores of every description, banks, office buildings and
hotels.

One striking feature of the city, as can be seen in the
accompanying picture — a birdseye view taken from the top
of the Ellicott Square building — is that the chief business
blocks cluster round a common center and are within easy

Buffalo. ^7

reach of each other, thus facilitating the dispatch of busi-
ness. In the half-tone on page 3 are to be seen St. Paul's
Cathedral, the Erie County Savings Bank, the Guaranty
Building, the D. S. Morgan Building, the Real Estate inx-
change, the City Hall and St. Joseph's Cathedral.

A few years ago a number of small stores with nar-
row windows and an ancient appearance looked across
Main Street to St. Paul's Cathedral and Niagara Street; now
one of the handsomest buildings to be seen in any city
occupies the same spot and fronts on four streets. EUicott
Square has ten stories. Its principal entrance, with elab-
orate ornamentation and large pillars, leads into a main
court with mosaic floor, around which are spacious stores,
a restaurant and offices. Here important meetings are
sometimes held, bands play and election and other returns
are read. The building itself is of modern steel construc-
tion, faced with brick and terra cotta. It contains 447,000
square feet of floor space; has 40 stores, 16 banking rooms
and 600 offices. Fourteen elevators convey the constant
stream of busy people who throng its floors. The Western
Union Telegraph Company has its famous repeating station
on the tenth floor. The large sum of $3,350,000 was ex-
pended on the site and building. The well-known and
exclusive Ellicott Club, with an entrance fee of $60, and
annual dues of $40, has its rooms, with cafe and restaurant,
on the tenth floor. Here President McKinley made a mem-
orable speech, at the time of our war with Spain. The
offices of various prominent railway companies are here.

All day the section of Main Street from this point on to
the Music Hall presents a gay and animated scene, and
at night is brilliantly lighted by a double row of electric
lamps on each side of the street. The Iroquois Hotel
(Rates: American plan, $4 and $5 per day; European plan,
$2 per day and upwards) ' stands out conspicuous, at the
corner of Eagle Street, with its eight stories, shortly to
receive an additional two. It is the property of the Buffalo
Library.

28 « Buffalo.

When the Niagara Bank entered the field in Buffalo, in
1816, it had no competitor. Now there are twenty-four
banks in the city. Prominent among them is the Erie
County Savings Bank, which occupies an imposing Eliza-
bethan structure facing Main Street at the head of Niagara
Street, having Pearl Street on the east and Church Street
on the south. Black, white, pink, gray and red marbles line
the walls on the different floors, and the woodwork is
mahogany. Its many turrets and windows and the steep
roof give wonderful relief to the flat fronts and prevailing
simplicity of many of the neighboring Main Street stores.
The Erie County Savings Bank and the Fidelity Trust and
Guaranty Company occupy the first floor, and there are
besides 193 offices.

Close to this bank and in striking contrast to the busy
surroundings is the quiet St. Paul's Cathedral, the parent
Episcopal church of Buffalo. Behind this is the City and
County Hall, a three-story granite building, unfortunately
hidden from view from Main Street. It has been suggested
that this portion of the street should be opened up that
this fine municipal structure might be displayed. It stands
in the square formed by Eagle, Church and Franklin
streets and Delaware Avenue. The cost of construction was
$1,500,000. An annex to the City Hall, known as the Mu-
nicipal Building, stands on the opposite side of Delaware
Avenue. The City Hall is finished in black walnut. The
tower, 200 feet in height, contains an illuminated clock
with four dials, each nine feet in diameter. From the
top of this tower can be obtained a charming view of the
city. Lake Erie, the Canadian shore and Niagara River.

A building 157 feet high, with an observation tower
which gives it a height of 221 feet, is not easily over-
looked. It is only a few steps from the City Hall and
will repay a visit. Even at night the D. S. Morgan Building,
at the southwest corner of Pearl and Niagara streets, is
most conspicuous, as its dome-shaped tower is studded
with electric lights. White Italian marble and white oak

Buffalo. 29

adorn its interior. Ample light which streams throug'h
large windows makes this a most desirable office building,
and its rooms never lack tenants, A splendid view is ob-
tained from the upper tower.

Still within the same circle whose radii center at Elli-
cott Square, we come to the Guaranty Building, at the
southwest corner of Church and Pearl streets. It towers
thirteen stories heavenward and exhibits much the same
features as the other large buildings already described.
The same may be said of the Dun Building at the corner of
Pearl and West Swan streets. The Builders' Exchange,
which is owned by the stockholders of the Board of Trade,
stands at the northwest corner of Court and Pearl streets.
It is built of stone and is eight stories high. The society
consists of more than a hundred contractors and dealers
in builders' supplies and has opened free to the public an
exhibit of builders' materials on the ground floor.

From this quarter, if you choose, half a dozen different
streets will take you down to the lake; but we do hot
advise you to thread your way through the business mazes
of that section. You should follow Court Street down to
Niagara Square, a large open space in which great im-
provements are contemplated. Here Delaware, Genesee,
Mohawk, Niagara and Court streets intersect.

To the northwest lies a nice residence district, along
the lake front. Erie County Penitentiary is at the corner
of Fifth and Pennsylvania streets in this direction, and a
little farther along the water works may be visited. Close
to this region on Niagara Street is the striking castellated
armory of the 74th Regiment, which is almost completed.

On the way back to Main Street we pass the handsome
headquarters of the Masonic Order, at 43 Niagara Street,
an eight-story brick and stone building, with rooms on
every floor suitable for the various orders of Masonry.
Here, too, is the home of the Acacia Club, a Masonic society
for the promotion of social intercourse among its mem-
bers.

3

(30)

Buffalo. 31

On returning to Main Street by way of Court Street, we
arrive at Lafayette Square, with the German Insurance
Building and the old Lafayette Presbyterian Church on the
north, and the Mooney-Brisbane building on the south.
The Public Library stands on the southeast corner of Broad-
way and Washington Street looking into the Square, and
the Buffalo Savings Bank keeps it company on the northeast
corner. In the center of the Square is the Soldiers' and
Sailors' Monument, a handsome tribute to the heroes who
died by sea and land in our various wars from 1776 to
the Civil War. The monument is eighty feet high and is
crowned with a statue of the Goddess of Liberty. The
base of the monument is adorned with warlike figures,
and four large rifled cannon, unused weapons of the Civil
War, are mounted, one at each corner of the square, and an
old mortar and two cannon, one of British origin from
Fort Erie, and one from Black Rock, a survivor of the
War of 1812, remind us of the tragic past.

Looking into the Square from the head of Broadway is
the Public Library, one of the most popular institutions
in the city. For many years it was the property of the
Young Men's Christian Association. Aided by public sub-
scription, the present building was erected. It contains
the Library, the Fine Arts Academy, the Society of Natural
Sciences and the Historical Association. There are about
100,000 books in ihe Library. Formerly $3 a year was
charged as subscription. The membership was >£mall and
its means were straitened. Within the past two years it
has been made a free library; the membership has risen to
about 60,000, and the interest taken in it by the public has
proportionately increased. An excellent system of open
shelves has been instituted by the new superintendent, Mr.
Elmendorf, and the once staid and solemn halls are filled
with eager readers.

The basement is given up to the use of the Natural
Science Society, which has a large collection of prehistoric
animal remains, geological specimens and Indian relics.

32 Buffalo.

The Fine Arts Academy has rooms where an annual
exhibition of local art is given and where a recent valuable
donation of plaster reproductions of famous ancient statues,
such as the Laocoon, the Winged Victory of Samothrake,
the Faun of Praxiteles and others, contribute to the educa-
tion of Buffalo's art community.

The Historical Society has a valuable collection of old
coins, Indian relics, old books of local interest, local pic-
tures and antiquities, in the upper rooms of the building.
Racks for bicycles, a free check-room for parcels and um-
brellas and well-appointed lavatories add to the many
admirable features of this institution.

The Mooney-Brisbane Building on the south side of the
Square contains large stores on the first floor and sixteen
bazaars arranged to face a central court on the second
floor. There are seven stories in this building, which has
every improvement in the way of elevators, heating and
plumbing. It was erected in 1895 on the ruins of the old
Arcade Building, where Shea's Theater and the old Won-
derland had their home.

Looking to the left, on the opposite side of Main Street,
below Court Street, we see the large dry goods store of the
Adam, Meldrum & Anderson Co., which is called the Amer-
ican Block. On the east side of the street is the store of
J. N. Adam & Co., another large department store. Almost
facing Lafayette Square near Court Street is the new and
extensive clothing establishment of J. L. Hudson & Co.

Passing the German-American Insurance Building we
come to the Tifft House, a well-known commercial and
family hotel.

At the head of West Genesee and partly looking down
Main Street the Genesee Hotel, with the Central Presby-
terian Church on its right, forms a welcome break in the
street line. On the opposite side of the street, at the
corner of Mohawk, is the Young Men's Christian Associa-
tion, a four-story building of red brick, with gym-
nasium, library, billiard room, swimming bath and several

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The Buffalo General Agency Office Building of Mutual Life Insurance Company
of New York.

(33)

34

Buffalo.

lecture rooms. Lectures, addresses and various courses
of instruction which are largely taken advantage of are
given throughout the year, and in order to foster physical
as well as mental vigor the society has a good athletic
field of its own.

The trend of business, at least in the way of stores, is
up town, and of late years there has been a general moving
of various firms into the section between Genesee and
Edward — Flint & Kent's dry goods store, Perren's carriage

The Genesee Hotel.

showroom, various bicycle stores and the pioneer of them
all, the Palace Arcade, a building with ninety-four stores
and offices, which runs through from Main to Washington
Street opposite the Washington Market.

THE MUSIC HALL.

Walking out Main Street to the north, beneath the hand-
some chestnut and maple trees which shade the sidewalks.

Buffalo

35

we come in sight of the tower of the Music Hall building,
with its open observation gallery, just below the spire.
Its proportions are symmetrical and its appearance artistic,
and from above its spacious entrance bas reliefs of famous
musicians look down. The building is the property of
the German Young Men's Christian Association. It has a
large hall, the acoustic properties of which are unfor-
tunately not all that could be desired. The stage is 48x80

Mus c Ha

feet and the hall itself will seat 3,000. The concert hall,
which is much smaller, is convenient for lectures and so-
ciety entertainments. Here, for a number of years, the
congregation of the First Baptist Church has worshiped.

Along Edward Street from the Music Hall and just at
the corner of Franklin, is the Grosvenor Library, a free
public library, bequeathed to the city by Mr. Seth Gros-
venor. After an uneventful history of growth and accumu-

36 Buffalo.

lation of funds the trustees were at last able to erect this
handsome building in the style of the Italian Renaissance.
The library has over 40,000 volumes and is open from
9 a. m. to 6 p. m.

DELAWARE AVENUE.

Keeping along Edward Street to the west we arrive at
Delaware Avenue, the aristocratic quarter of the city — and
a really handsome street. At the corner of Edward Street
is the Saturn Club, famous for its hospitality, intellectual-
ity and progressiveness. To the south is the Buffalo Club,
the resort of the wealthy, with handsome billiard rooms
and a splendid swimming pond. Tne avenue runs from
the Terrace four miles out to the city line. It passes be-
tween Forest Lawn Cemetery and the Park, and is the
delight of cyclers, for it is asphalted all the way.

GOODELL STREET TO CITY LINE.

Returning to Main Street: Emerging from Edward Street,
St. Louis Cathedral is on our left hand; opposite is Goodell
Street, with the handsome offices and saloon of the Chris-
tian Weyand Brewing Co., at the northeast corner. East
from this is a vast network of streets that extend over
to Genesee, where High Street runs into that thoroughfare.
Here are the homes of many of the German population
of the city. On Mulberry Street is St. Boniface's Catholic
Church and School. Further to the north on Main Street
stands a fine building in connection with the German-
American Brewing Co. Here is a handsome saloon and
bowling alley, also a commodious hall and society rooms,
with a popular roof garden.

From this point Main Street runs clear to the city line
with residences, a hospital or two, and various manu-
factories on the way. The street cars run out all the way,
and will convey you to the Exposition; or, if you cnoose,
you can transfer at Allen Street and reach the same des-
tination by way of Elm wood Avenue.

Buffalo

37

CHURCHES.

St. Paul's Episcopal Church occupies a commanding po-
sition where Erie, Pearl and Church streets join. It lends
an element of grace to the group of buildings — municipal,
banking and business — which cluster at this spot. The
church was consecrated in 1851.

At the corner of Genesee and Pearl streets, in close
proximity to the Genesee Hotel, is the Central Presbyterian

First Presbyterian Ciiurch.

Church, a solid building with a severe spire. This somber
place of worship may one day give way to a more modern
establishment, if the plans of the Rev. Henry E. Mott, the
present incumbent, ever materialize. Mr. Mott's idea is to
build a convention hall and church combined, along with
other practical features, on the site of the present Genesee
Hotel and Central Church. The site is well adapted for the
scheme, which might solve some of the city's problems.
The Old North Church looks romantic with its ivy-

38

Buffalo

covered walls which give tone to the plain block between
Huron and Chippewa.

On Tupper and Delaware is a modern church vith every
convenience for Christian social life — Delaware Avenue
Methodist Episcopal Church. It is a model institution, with
parlors, piano, kitchen, minister's library, handsome organ,
Sabbath school room, classrooms and a large and well-
furnished parsonage.

In the immediate vicinity is Calvary Presbyterian

Synagogue — "Temple Beth Zion."

Church; and facing Trinity Place, Trinity Episcopal Church,
both with wealthy congregations and all the appliances of
a modern Christian institutional church.

Northward on the avenue, between Bryant and West Utica
streets, is the very handsome Delaware Avenue Baptist
Church. In point of excellence of internal arrangement
and variety of rooms and fittings for church work it would
be diflacult to find any modern place of worship better pro-

St. Louis' Catholic Church.
(39)

40 ' Buffalo.

vided. Under the Rev. Dr. Gifford's guidance this congre-
gation has attained an influential position in city work.

The First Presbyterian Church at the corner of Wads-
worth and Pennsylvania streets, facing the Circle, presents
a bold and striking image as it looks down Richmond Ave-
nue and commands the entrances to Porter Avenue and
North Street with its tall square tower.

Along Porter Avenue, at the corner of Prospect, the Cath-
olic Church and Academy of the Holy Angels are beautiful-
ly situated in the midst of trees and grassy lawns.

Temple Beth Zion, on Delaware Avenue^ between Allen
and North Streets, is a splendid example of a moaern Jew-
ish synagogue. Its large round dome and ornamental front
distinguish it from all other church buildings. It is the
property of a progressive Jewish congregation, who retain
the essentials and discard the non-essentials of Judaism.

For many years the Lafayette Presbyterian congrega-
tion worshiped in their church on Lafayette Square. Lately
they have removed to a very beautiful new home, on what
was once Eouck, but now is Lafayette Avenue.

The Catholic church is well represented in the com-
munity. There are many Polish, Italian and German con-
gregations, besides one French church. St. Joseph's Cathe-
dral, at the corner of Swan and Franklin streets, is a
Gothic stone building with two towers and a magnificent
chime of forty-three bells, which, however, have long been
in disuse for want of proper accommodation. It is hoped
that public generosity will enable the cathedral authorities
to place them so that their sweet tones may be heard by
the crowds that will attend the Exposition of 1901.

St. Michael's German Catholic Church looks down on
Washington Market's busy square, the retail emporium for
fruit, poultry, vegetables, fish and butchers' meat. On the
north, adjacent to the church, is Canisius College, and a
little further along the Buffalo Academy of the Sacred
Heart, where the Sisters of St. Francis educate young
women to be teachers in the public schools. Canisius Col-

Buffalo. 41

lege was chartered in 1883. It affords a first-class all-
round education to boys and fits them mentally and
physically for public life.

St. Louis' Church at the corner of Main and Edward
streets has a beautiful spire whose symmetry and grace
speak eloquently of the designer's genius.

Time would fail us to tell of St. Bridget's with its
numerous Irish congregation, St. Adalbert's, where the
swarming Polish population of East Buffalo worship, and
the many other homes of this excellently organized religious
body.

THEATERS.

Buffalo has three principal theaters. Sometimes the
Music Hall is used as a playhouse, making a fourth. The
Star is the principal theater. High-class comedy, tragedy
and opera are to be heard here. Prices are reasonable,
with occasional extravagant rates for some star or ex-
clusive combination, and again with a 25-cent admission
all over the house when some popular opera company makes
a long stay during the summer.

The Lyceum, on Washington Street near Lafayette
Square, is the home of melodrama and the resort of won-
derful mechanical pantomimic productions.

Court Street Theater has a reputation for producing a
species of light variety entertainments that draw large
crowds of men. Wrestling and boxing exhibitions also
attract multitudes thither.

HOSPITALS.

The Buffalo State Hospital for the Insane on Forest
Avenue, near Elmwood, was begun in 1872 and completed
quite recently. Its two handsome towers, its beautiful
grassy lawns, its profusion of trees and shrubbery and its
many other attractions are all calculated to soothe the
troubled mind. Its admirable sanitary arrangements, the
abundance of light, the perfection of its ventilating and

Masonic Temple,
(42)

Buffalo. 43

heating apparatus, the good food, the means of exercise
and recreation, all presage cures, and the medical statistics
confirm the promise. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays
visitors are admitted from 2 to 5 p. m.

The General Hospital on High Street has been enlarged
lately. The addition will accommodate 325 patients. The
old building has room for 175. Over two thousand patients
are treated here every year. Some of them are charity
patients; others pay $1 a day, and others in proportion
to accommodation and attendance. This is also a training
school for nurses.

State Hobpitd

The Fitch Institution perpetuates the memory of its
founder, Benjamin Fitch, one of Buffalo's prominent phil-
anthropists. Here are an accident hospital and ambulance,
a dispensary, a fresh-air mission and other charitable as-
sociations.

The Sisters' Hospital on Main Street, near Delaware Ave-
nue, has done incalculable good. It has 344 beds. It at-
tends to 2,000 patients yearly by means of its resident
physicians and its emergency hospital at Soutn Division
and Michigan streets.

There are many other hospitals in the city. The Ger-
man community recently began the construction of a large
infirmary for those of their own nationality.

44 Buffalo,

SHORT EXCURSIONS.

Mostly all the excursion boats start from the foot of
Main Street, but the visitor will find Ferry Street an equally
convenient starting point for most places. From Ferry
Street a boat crosses every fifteen minutes to Fort Erie,
Canada, where there is a pleasant grove and the ruined
fort to be seen.

A short distance down the river is Grand Island, six
miles wide and twelve miles long. Situated within half
an hour's sail, it offers many advantages for summer resi-
dence, which have been appreciated by several wealthy
clubs and private families whose homes are to be seen on
both sides of the island. A bridge from the mainland
has been long talked of. The charter was obtained some
years ago, and work was begun in the summer of 1899.
The bridge will connect Buffalo and Grand Island about a
mile below Grand Island Ferry, and this most desirable
residence district will be within easy reach of the city.
The island, with its pleasant resorts — Bedell House, Elm-
wood Beach and Edgewater — offers varied attractions to the
visitor. Steamboats run every day to these places, and
every hour to Bedell House, and in a short time transport
one from the center of busy life to the charms of the coun-
try, where fishing, boating and bathing can be found to the
heart's content and the body's recreation.

Crystal Beach, in Canada, about an hour's sail, is one of
the most attractive bathing and pleasure resorts near the
city. Woodlawn Beach, six miles up the lake shore, on the
American side, is a pleasant family resort, easily reached
by wheel. Kenmore Park, between Buffalo and Tonawanda,
and Lein's Park, near Ebenezer, have special features of
their own, and are carefully conducted. There is an ex-
cellent steamboat service to Slater's Point, on the Can-
adian side of the river, near the Falls, whence electric
cars run through the picturesque scenery of the Dufferin
Islands past the finest view of the Falls, along the top of

Buffalo. 45

the Gorge, overlooking the Whirlpool Rapids, and down
to the quiet, but historic village of Queenston, over which
Brock's monument keeps sleepless watch. On the Amer-
ican side of the Falls an electric line conveys one by the
Gorge route close to the Whirlpool Rapids and follows the
course of the river ajl the way to Lewiston. None should
miss this interesting trip.

The large boats, the State of Ohio, City of Buffalo, and
the City of Erie, run between Cleveland and Buffalo. Two
fine steamers, the North West and the North Land, run
between Buffalo, Chicago and Duluth.

THE PARKS.

Few cities are more favorably situated, or more abun-
dantly supplied with facilities for recreation and rest than
Buffalo. The park system offers simple, wholesome and
refreshing recreation within the city. Water, meadow and
woodland delight the eye, and the extent of land devoted
to this purpose equals and even exceeds that of some larger
cities. Starting from the City Hall on Main Street, by
carriage or wheel, one can ride out Delaware Avenue, with
its beautiful residences and shade trees, to North Street
and the Circle; down Porter Avenue to the Front, a public
park of forty-seven acres, overlooking the lake. On the left
is Buffalo Yacht Club House; in front the Erie canal, the
New York Central and Grand Trunk railroads, the break-
water and Canada on the other shore.

To the north is Fort Porter, looking out over Niagara
River from the top of a little hill. For some years past
it has been garrisoned by Companies A and G of the 13th
Regular Infantry. It is a substantial two-story brick build-
ing, with hospital, guard-house and officers' quarters.

Asphalt streets at every block will take you to West
Richmond or Elmwood Avenue, as you please. Thence the
distance to the park is not great. Buffalo Park is 362
acres in extent, with a handsome lake. A well-constructed
road, 9,800 feet long, runs from the entrance past the
4

(46)

Buffalo. 47

park lake, and skirting the golf course passes the Zoo, with
its interesting collection of animals, and turns northeast
to Main Street.

A mile and a half along this street, to the north, stands
the Poor House and Erie County Insane Asylum. Forest
Lawn Cemetery may be visited. Leaving Forest Lawn
by the south gate, the Crematory appears. Continuing
east to Humboldt Parkway, you reach the Parade, a park
of fifty-six acres, which lately has been enlarged and beau-
tified by the addition of a lake and bicycle paths. From
this point Genesee Street may be followed until Main Street
is again reached.

NIAGARA FALLS BY WHEEL.

An enjoyable trip by carriage, electric road or bicycle
is out Delaware Avenue, past the west side of Forest Lawn
Cemetery, turning to the right across the street-car line,
when the park is reached, down the shady slope to the
bridge, where boys angle for sunfish and perch; up the hill
past the Exposition Grounds, out the Boulevard to Ken-
more; past Kenmore, a beautifully clean little residence
village, with three churches; up the hill to Kenmore Park
and then down to Tonawanda. All this distance, eleven
miles, you have a smooth asphalt pavement to the city line
and thence to Tonawanda a perfect brick pavement. Hav-
ing reached the famous lumber city, midway between Buf-
falo and the Falls, you can return or go on. If you are
driving, your road to Niagara Falls is plain; if you are
on the cars, you need no guide; if you are wheeling, you
strike through Tonawanda, crossing the bridge over the
canal, and out the brick pavement till you reach the coun-
try road at Gratwick. Keeping along this for about a mile
and a half, you reach the bicycle path. An Erie County
tag, costing 50 cents, admits you to all the bicycle paths
in the country. You follow the path till you reach the
Log Cabin Hotel, when you must take to the road, riding
between the car tracks, if you choose and as most people

48 Buffalo.

do, till you strike the path once more. The road follows
the river; passes through La Salle, near which the famous
explorer built his first boat, "The Griffin," about 1679, and
follows a direct line to the neat, modern, industrial village
of Echota, the Niagara Falls Power Company's creation,
with a trim station on the N. Y. C. & H. R. Railway, Sugar
and Buffalo streets, two principal thoroughfares of Niagara
Falls, run through the village. You follow Buffalo Street,
whose asphalt pavement brings you to the Falls, twenty-
two miles from Buffalo. Thence you may ride to Lewiston,
Queenston or Lockport, but the roads are not so good as
the one you have just followed.

CANADIAN ROUTE TO THE FALLS.

If you prefer to see the other side of the river you can
take your carriage or wheel and cross the river at Ferry
Street to Fort Erie. Thence a rather rough road skirts the
river, passes Grand Island and reaches the Falls by way of
Dufferin Islands.

TO WILLIAMSVILLE.

This is a nice trip of eleven miles. There is asphalt
pavement to the city line. There you have your choice of
a country bicycle path on the right and a natural bicycle
path on the left, both good. Twenty minutes' ride brings
you to Sulphur Spring Farm, a pleasure resort. I'urther
on is Blocher's Spring, a highly respectable family temper-
ance grove, beautiful with quince and apple blossom in
their season, and famous for its sulphur-impregnated water.

CAZENOVIA PARK.

Seneca Street starts from Main Street between Swan
and Exchange, and runs east to the city line. On the right,
just before the city line is reached, is Cazenovia Park,
through which runs Cazenovia Creek. Much has been done
to beautify this naturally picturesque spot. The creek has
been bridged in different places, and flowers and shrubs

Buffalo. 49

adorn the well-kept grass, which is a great advance on the
rank growth of Red Jacket's day.

SOUTH PARK.

South Park is another recent creation, which, though
still in its infancy, gives promise of a future of beauty. It
lies to the south of the city, adjacent to Limestone Hill.
From its commanding situation on the crest of the Ridge
Road an excellent view of Buffalo can be enjoyed. It has
a lake and botanical houses. A new and spacious botan-
ical building is almost ready. In course of time South
Park will be as popular and beautiful as its luxuriant sister
in the north of the city.

FOREST LAWN CEMETERY.

Buffalo has no fewer than twenty-two cemeteries of
various kinds. At Limestone Hill is Holy Cross Cemetery,
used exclusively for the interment of those of Irish birth.
The United German and French Catholic Cemetery at Pine
Hill, East Delavan Avenue, near the city line, is laid out
with taste and is distinctly beautiful. But Forest Lawn
Cemetery surpasses them all in beauty of situation, which
has been greatly increased by tasteful landscape gardening.
It stands on a high table nearly surrounded on the south
and west by Scajaquada Creek. The Soldiers' monument,
the Red Jacket memorial near the Delaware entrance, the
Blocher dome, with its four plate-glass windows and four
life-size figures; the Bliss obelisk, 151 feet from base to
apex; the Bailey sphere, seven feet in diameter; the Mc-
Cuen granite maltese cross, and many other beautiful pieces
of sculpture lend an artistic setting to the natural features
of the burying-ground. As it is not far from the Exposi-
tion, a visit can be easily paid to this lovely spot.

THE COUNTRY CLUB.

The Country Club stands in its own grounds, twenty
acres in extent, at the north end of Buffalo Park, close to

(50)

Buffalo. 51

the Exposition. It has a polo field and a golf course, and is
maintained by a membership of about 200 of both sexes.
Its aim is to promote athletic exercises and to provide for
its members an agreeable meeting place remote from city-
noise and distractions.

THE CREMATORY.

Opposite Forest Lawn Cemetery, where the rites of sep-
ulture are paid to the dead, stands the Crematory, a dark
sandstone building, where cremation, equally ancient, is
practiced. The company has a capital of $15,000; but
cremation has not yet become fashionable^ though the
number of its patrons is increasing.

COMPvIERCE AND NAVIGATION.

Buffalo is the port of discharge for the traffic of the lakes
which connect the grain fields of the West with the Atlantic
seaboard. By canal and by rail lumber, grain, flour and
coal are rapidly distributed. This commerce is increasing,
for Buffalo is the natural outlet to the markets of the
world.

In 1796 the first American vessel sailed Lake Erie under
the American flag. In 1806 a few small vessels transported
freight to Buffalo. In 1816 the number had increased to 29.
In 1817 the first flour boat arrived. In 1818 the first steam-
boat sailed from Black Rock. Buffalo's shipping in 1825
was 1,050 tons. In 1898 the total tonnage entered and
cleared at the port was 12,020,721 tons. Next to New York
and Chicago it is the greatest port of entry and discharge
in the United States. Of grain, 220,350,000 bushels entered
the port in 1898; about 25,000,000 bushels were exported
by canal, and 178,490,750 bushels by rail. There are 40 grain
elevators, 6 transfer towers, and 8 floaters engaged in the
grain trade in Buffalo. But only 41 of these are working
on an average. Their total storage capacity is 20,460,000
bushels. The transfer capacity for each twenty-four hours
would probably be 5,500,000 bushels.

52 Buffalo.

There are six flour mills in Buffalo. Last year 482,907
barrels of flour were manufactured.

LIVE STOCK TRADE.

As a live stock market Buffalo is said to be the second
largest in the world. Nearly 9,000,000 animals are handled
yearly. In 1898, 28,200 cars of cattle, 30,709 cars of hogs,
6,606 cars of sheep, 3,964 cars of horses, and 3,233 cars of
mixed animals were received. In the same year 26,535
cars of cattle, 25,555 cars of hogs, 7,029 cars of sheep,
3,679 cars of horses, and 478 cars of mixed stock were
shipped. Buffalo's dealings in sheep are the largest and in
cattle and hogs the second largest of any stock-dealing
center.

LUMBER TRADE.

Including Tonawanda, Buffalo is the largest lumber
market in the United States. In 1898 1,750,347 feet of lum-
ber were imported by canal, and 189,075,938 feet by lake.
Besides this, 5,339,938 pieces of lath, 277,000 railroad ties,
9,100,000 staves, 1,387 cords of stave-bolts, 120,583,000 shin-
gles, 4,170 posts, 106,938 cords of pulpwood, 100 bundles of
hoops, 161 cars of headings, and 654,000 cubic feet of ship
timber were imported by lake. By canal were exported
28,182,437 feet of lumber, 6,640,000 pounds staves and head-
ing, 897,000 shingles, and 10,803,000 pounds of pulpwood.
By railroads were exported 533,587,500 feet of lumber, 55,-
625,000 shingles, and 287,898,000 feet of lumber bought ap-
points of production and shipped to points of destination
by city merchants.

COAL TRADE.

There are large stocking coal trestles at Cheektowager
at Georgia Street, and at Ganson and Michigan streets.
The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western, the Erie, the Le-
high, the Reading and Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburg
companies occupy these points. The joint storage capacity
of these trestles is about 400,000 tons.

Buffalo. 53

The shipping docks and coal pockets have a joint aver-
age daily shipping capacity of 21,500 tons and a joint
average storage capacity of 35,500 tons. In 1898, 7,336,301
tons of coal, including both anthracite and bituminous,
were imported, and 2,692,187 tons exported.

BANKS.

In 1816 Buffalo had one bank, the Niagara; in 1899,
there were 16 discount banks, 4 savings banks and 2 trust
companies. The discount banks have deposits to the amount
of $34,222,277, and capital, surplus and earnings of $8,998,-
278. The two trust companies have deposits, $9,220,811;
and capital, surplus and earnings, $1,082,274. The savings
banks have deposits, $39,758,622.89; surplus, $4,847,867.87;
and assets, $44,561,544.88. The Bank Association formed
a Clearing House in 1890, to give stability to- the banking
business and facilitate exchange transactions. The clear-
ings last year amounted to $216,123,437.10; and the balances
to $37,176,383.51.

NEWSPAPERS.

The first newspaper printed in Buffalo was the Gazette,
published in 1811. This is now the Commercial, a flourish-
ing and enterprising journal. The Courier changed hands
lately, and, along with the Enquirer, became the property
of Mr. Conners, a wealthy grain merchant. The Express,
printed by the Matthews & Northrup Co., is a leading paper
with a first-class illustrated Sunday edition. The News is
a prominent and successful independent paper with a Re-
publican creed. It also has an excellent Sunday edition.
So has the Times, the Democratic organ, vigorously con-
ducted by Mr. Mack. The Catholic Union and Times is a
clear-sighted religious journal, edited with much literary
skill by the Rev. Father Cronin, whose excellent editorial
qualities have gained for it a large circulation among the
Catholic community of the city. There are three Germaiv
daily papers— the Demokrat, the Volksfreund, and the

5

54 Buffalo.

Freie Presse. A Polish semi-weekly paper, Polak w Ameryce,
has a considerable circulation. These are some of the
many periodicals published in the city.

RAILROADS CENTERING AT BUFFALO.

Buffalo's railroad facilities are the greatest in the world.
Twenty-nine different lines enter the city. There are,
within an area of forty-two square miles, including the
Delaware, Lackawanna & Western and West Shore Rail-
roads, 450 miles of railroad tracks. When contemplated
additions have been made this will be greatly increased.
The railroad companies own over 3,600 acres of land.

ASPHALT PAVEMENTS.

Some years ago Paris, the capital of France, boasted
that it had the finest paved streets in the world. Now Buf-
falo occupies that proud position. Three million square
yards of the city's pavements have been laid by the Barber
Asphalt Paving Co. All the European capitals combined
have only two and a half million square yards. The very
low death rate of the city, only 12.25 per thousand, in
comparison with 14.22 at Chicago, 20.09 at Boston, and 21.04
at New York, is partly to be attributed to the two hundred
miles of asphalt streets, carefully swept each day, where
there are no crevices to catch disease germs.

SOME BUFFALO INDUSTRIES.

While the advent of Niagara electric power in Buffalo
is certain to attract new industries to the city, there are
many old-established firms like the Buffalo Scale Co., or-
ganized thirty years ago, which have grown with the city's
growth. This is the largest concern in the United States
exclusively engaged in the manufacture of scales. The
Buffalo Car Manufacturing Co. constructs all kinds of
freight and refrigerator cars. The Niagara Car Wheel Co.
turns out 450 wheels each day. Vast capital is invested in
these two industries, which employ many men. Sidney
Shepard & Co.'s Stamping Works turn out stamped, ja-

Buffalo. 55

panned and galvanized ware and sheet metal goods. This
establishment has a history of sixty years; is up-to-date in
every respect, and caters to the Western trade by means of
its Chicago establishment.

The Buffalo Cast Iron Pipe Co. and the Spaulding Ma-
chine Screw Co. are two immense concerns employing a
small army of workmen. The former manufactures the
standard piping of the country, and the latter puts on the
market various parts of bicycles. The Buffalo School Fur-
niture Co., the Niagara Cycle Fittings Co., the Jacob Dold
Packing Co., are other large concerns. The last mentioned
transacts business yearly of over $10,000,000.

There are many breweries in the city. The Gerhard
Long Park Brewery has an annual output of over 175,000
barrels. The Magnus Beck, the Iroquois, the Christian
Weyand, the International, the Star, and the John Schusler
Brewing Company are all first-class establishments. What
will give Buffalo its future high standing among the first-
class cities of this land is the proximity of the Niagara
electric power. The Falls are only twelve miles distant as
the crow files. When the full available electric power has
been brought into industrial use there will be a continuous
city from Buffalo to the Falls. Such a city would not be
much larger than Chicago. The Falls are capable of produc-
ing 420,000 horse-power, an amount equal to the total steam-
power now in use in New York State. Already the vast
street-car system of Buffalo, Tonawanda, Niagara Falls
and Lockport is propelled by the Falls electric power.
Month after month sees the new power installed in more
of the business houses of the city. One of the newspapers,
the Express, is printed by presses driven by electric power
from the Falls; others will follow. The streets are lighted
by the Falls electricity, and soon its industries, which em-
ploy 70,000 hands and need a capital of $100,000,000, will
be driven by the same force. There are not wanting those
who prophesy that in proportion as the Niagara power is
used the city will develop until within a single decade its
population by a normal growth will be a million.

(56)

Pan -American Exposition.

Historical Review of the Exposition Project.

Probably the most distinctive purpose of the Pan-Amer-
ican Exposition, to be held during the summer months of
the year 19G1 at Buffalo, is the extension of commerce and
the promotion of friendly relations between the United
States and the Latin American Republics of Central and
South America. Naturally there are other objects, notably
the celebration of the achievements of America during the
nineteenth century, for one, and the display of the electric
energy generated at Niagara's cataract, for another.

From the first, feature after feature has been promised,
and the outlook is bright for a many-sided and very attract-
ive Exposition. Some of these features will be unique, a
comprehensive display from America's new possessions,
gathered and installed under the guidance of the Govern-
ment, being one which promises to be of very great interest,
while another will be the water and horticultural displays;
and the buildings themselves will be pleasing, for they
will show a marked departure from the structures seen at
prior American expositions, the severely classical style
always before adopted having been made to give way to the
warmer types prevalent in the South.

Either of the above ideas would be sufficient in itself
to make an exposition profitable from the educational view-
point, but with such a wealth of ideas on which to build
it is possible that Exposition officials may overstep their
most sanguine expectations.

After giving consideration to the plans of the Exposi-
tion, weighing carefully and conning over the merits of
each, the conclusion forces itself that the determination
to develop trade and social relations between the United
States and the Republics of South and Central America

57

58 Pan- Amebic AN

is the most important reason for the holding of the Expo-
sition. The other reasons are strong, but just at the open-
ing of the century the idea of binding together the people
of the North and South appeals in a powerful way to all,
and the fact that prospects are bright for the cutting of a
great ship canal through the Isthmus of Panama, by the
United States, adds zest to the Pan-American idea.

Though not a very old project the Pan-American has
already gathered to itself elements which must inevitably
aid its progress and add to its comprehensive character.
It has 13,000 individual subscribers, each taking a personal
interest in the outcome of the plans now maturing; and
it has the co-operation of the Federal Government, the
Empire State, the Dominion of Canada and ten of the Latin-
American Republics, and a location that is not surpassed
on the globe. Many months ago the Congress of the United
States set aside $500,000 for the erection of a group of gov-
ernment buildings and the installation of a display, while
it also authorized the President to send formal invitations
to the other Republics and the colonies of the Western Hem-
isphere to join with the United States in commemorating
the progress that has been made in the arts and sciences
by the Pan-American peoples during the past century.
Gratifying, indeed, must have been the results of the send-
ing of those invitations, for though some time must still
elapse before the opening day arrives, word has been re-
ceived which proves that the men of South and Central
America are eager to co-operate with the United States in
this great effort to show to the world that the title chosen
for the Exposition means "All American" in the fullest and
truest sense. Of the Republics of Central and South Amer-
ica, Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, Salvador, Guatemala,
Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Costa Rica and Bolivia have
already sent official acceptances. The Dominion of Canada,
Dutch Guiana and Guadaloupe are also in the list, and there
are strong reasons for believing that Venezuela will soon
follow.

Wm. I. Buchanan, Director General — Pan-American Exposition.
(59)

60 Pan-American

A brief glance at the Exposition project from its awak-
ening to the present time will convince the reader that a
vast amount of work has been done. When the Federal
appropriation was made, no decision had been reached
regarding the size or location of the site, the number or
appearance of the buildings, the possibilities of Latin Amer-
ican co-operation, or the personnel of those who would
have the active management of the enterprise.

Since then an ideal site has been selected; an executive
force has taken up the reins of government; an Advisory
Board of Architects has prepared plans for a score of beau-
tiful buildings; a dozen foreign countries have otticially
accepted invitations to participate, and $5,800,000 has been
placed at the disposal of the management with which to
carry on the work.

Such results attained in so short a time are significant
of a gratifying conclusion, and when the charms of the
Exposition City and her peculiarly favorable location are
considered, the prospects grow brighter day by day. The
city of Buffalo is unrivaled in the qualities which should
attach to the site of a great Exposition of industry and art,
and is not excelled for charm or salubrity by any city in
which an exposition has hitherto been held. It is within
thirty minutes by steam cars, fifty minutes by electric cars
and ninety minutes by steamboat of the world's greatest
and most famous natural curiosity, the Falls of Niagara.

Lake Erie, Niagara River, the Niagara Rapids, the Falls
and the Whirlpool, and the Gorge of the Niagara below the
Cataract, combine to make a picture of natural scenery
on the grandest possible scale, which thousands will visit,
and which it is well worth a journey across the continent,
or a voyage across the sea, to look upon.

The motive power of the Exposition will be supplied
almost entirely by electric currents generated by the en-
ergy of the great Cataract, eclipsing any demonstration
yet conceived of the wonders of the electrical age. What-
ever the world now knows, or by 1901 may know of the

UXPOSITION. 61

magic power of electricity, will be developed with a full-
ness and a profusion which only the unlimited power of
Niagara could make possible. It is now believed by opti-
mists that by 1901 all the industries of this city of nearly
400,000 people will have the electrical energy of the Cataract
for their motive power.

The proximity and power of Niagara, both as an added
attraction and as a contributing aid to the beautification
of grounds and buildings through its electric power, was
given deep consideration before the preliminary work was
started, and the wisdom shown in the selection of the site
has been amply proven.

When the first call for money was made it was at a
public dinner tendered to Mayor Diehl. There was an im-
mediate and unprecedented outpouring of wealth and with-
in three hours the sum of $500,000 had been pledged. With
that splendid sum as a nucleus, offices were opened on the
morning following, and for the eight days succeeding the
average subscriptions exceeded $100,000. Then the Federal
Government appropriated its half million dollars; the Em-
pire State followed with $300,000 and later passed a bill
increasing the capital stock from $1,000,000 to $2,500,000,
and giving the right to float bonds in a similar amount.

After the money was raised the actual work was begun.
A plot plan showing the outlay of the grounds was prepared
and the twenty-one principal structures which will be built
were apportioned among the eight members of the Ad-
visory Board of Architects. It was clearly laid before the
members of the Board that it was the desire of the man-
agement to make the ensemble one typical of the countries
of South and Central America. All of the buildings are to
be of the sub-Spanish or Free Renaissance style; partak-
ing of the warmth and color of the buildings of the tropic
countries, which run to low, heavy, hanging eaves, gayly
colored tiled roofs, brightly tinted walls and pleasing
fountains and flowers within the inner courts. Now the
plans of nearly all of the structures have been completed,

5

62 « Fan-American

and with the handsome outlay of the grounds and the un-
precedented water and electrical effects promised, it is as-
sured that the completed work will present an appearance
of rare beauty. There is a special advantage in the site
which the management selected, for it embraces 335 acres
of land accessible by three lines of steam and five lines
of electric cars, and to reach it it is necessary to traverse
the show portion of the city, the selected plot lying north
and west of the city's aristocratic residential section, and
embracing 180 acres of Delaware Park, the finest subdi-
vision of the city's very complete and handsome park sys-
tem. Already on the site the mammoth Service Building
has been erected, and in the building a large force of
draughtsmen are working out the details of the other build-
ings, which will soon be rearing their ornamental heads
skyward. The pictures of the buildings so far submitted
show, to a remarkable extent, the wisdom of the manage-
ment in following the Spanish style.

The burden of completing the Exposition will rest upon
the shoulders of William I. Buchanan, late Minister to the
Argentine Republic, who, on November 1st of last year, ac-
cepted the position and entered upon the duties of Director
General. Mr. Buchanan is thoroughly familiar with exposi-
tion work. He made a great success of the Corn Palace
Exposition at Sioux City, his home, and when the World's
Columbian Exposition was being organized he was the first
man to receive appointment as a Department Chief, the
Bureaus of Agriculture, Live Stock and Forestry all being
under his supervision.

His services as United States Minister to Argentina,
one of the wealthiest and most progressive of the South
American Republics, put him in touch with the men of
South America, and the settlement of a long-pending and
vexatious boundary dispute between Chili and the Argen-
tine Republic gave him a standing in South America such
as is probably not enjoyed by any other citizen of the
United States.

Exposition. 63

EXPOSITION OFFICERS.

John G. Milburn. President.

Edwin Fleming Secretary.

George L. Williams, Treasurer.

John N. Scatcherd, Chairman Executive Committee,

William I. Buchanan, Director General.

GROUND PLAN.

(See diagram with map.)

The ground plan of the Pan-American Exposition, shown
in the accompanying engraving, represents an area of 350
acres in the northern part of the city of Buffalo. From
north to south the grounds are somewhat more than a mile
in length and from east to west about half a mile.

The northern boundary of the grounds is the New York
Central Belt Line Railway, to which the twenty-six rail-
road lines entering Buffalo will have access during the Ex-
position, so that trains from any part of the United States
or Canada may put down their passengers at the Exposi-
tion gates. A special railroad station (No. 16 on the dia-
gram) of ample dimensions, is provided. The eastern
boundary is Delaware Avenue, which, throughout a greater
part of its length, is one of the most beautiful streets in
the world. It is paved with asphalt for more than five
miles within the city, and a fine smooth brick pavement
extends another five miles beyond the city line to the
Tonawandas. The southern and western boundaries are
Forest and Elmwood avenues, with double-track electric
lines connecting with more than 300 miles of city and
suburban railways.

The whole area devoted to the giant enterprise is ad-
mirably chosen, and is susceptible of such artistic treatment
as will give to the Exposition an exquisite landscape effect.
The southern part of the grounds, 133 acres, is improved
park land, rich in its variety of trees and shrubbery. A
beautiful lake of irregular shape, fringed with vivid green

George Bleistein, Chairman Committee on Publicity — Pan-American Exposition.
(64)

Exposition. 65

foliage, is met here and there by romantic paths that lead
the strolling visitor around broad lawns and among gar-
dens brilliant with blossoms that fill the air with perfume.

ARTISTIC FEATURES OF THE EXPOSITION.

The general plan has been completed by Carrere &
Hastings of New York, and the scheme opens out with won-
derful effects of composition and color.

The plan of the grounds will be like an inverted T, a
inain court for the perpendicular and lesser courts for the
horizontal, with the buildings grouped around these, form-
ing minor courts within, the whole surrounded by a park
system with canals and waterways. The transverse courts
open out at the front on the unusually fine lakes and
woods of the Delaware Park, the city park laid out some
years ago by Frederick Law Olmstead. Elevated on a
plateau, and framed by the woods, this profile of the Ex-
position will stand out imposingly. The scheme of the
courts is defined by making salient points in the masses
of buildings. At the extremity of the main court stands
the electrical tower, designed by Howard, Cauldwell &
Morgan, 350 feet high; the junction of the courts is marked
"by two tower-like buildings about 200 feet high, with mas-
sive domed constructions at the ends of the transverse
courts.

APPROACHING THE EXPOSITION.

Starting from the city in a northwesterly direction those
bound for the grounds will pass up Delaware Avenue to
Delaware Park. From Delaware Avenue one will have
the first view of the Exposition buildings as they stand
out with their tinted sides and their red tile roofs. This
general view will not show a mere irregular plot packed
with buildings, but a composition carefully worked out.
To the artist as well as to the untutored in the arts, who
appreciate unconsciously true values and proportions, the
ensemble will be as pleasing as any detail of the Exposition.

66 Fan-American

All the main buildings will have a uniform height of eave
line of fifty feet, the low red roofs giving an informal char-
acter that will exclude the commonly expected severity of
an exposition. Passing through the park with its fine
lakes one will arrive in a fore court, in spirit like the courts
in front of the drawbridges of medieval castles; then over
a causeway, suggesting a drawbridge, in its heavily dec-
orated and sculptured pylons, bridging a lake to the new
grounds.

INSIDE THE PORTAL.

Beyond this portal one will stand in an Esplanade, the
transverse part of the T. Shady trellises extend along the
water front from right and left, where bands will be play-
ing alternately and people will be passing through to the
gondolas and launches on the lakes, the gayest of the scenes,
bright with floating bunting and fluttering awnings, while
in front lies the chief effect of the Exposition — the Court
of the Fountains, more than 1,000 feet long and 500 feet
wide. At the end the flower-like electrical tower will throw
a myriad of glittering lights on the mirrored surface of the
main lagoon. The terraced sides of this basin and the
transverse courts will be richly decorated with mosaic-like
beds of brilliant flowers, studded with statuary.

Beyond the buildings, at the sides, the grounds are
being richly laid out; to the east for open agricultural
exhibits, to the west, in a lagooned park, for exhibits from
our new possessions. Beyond, and to the east of the
electrical tower will be a grand Stadium for sports, and
to the west a Midway Plaisance.

STYLE OF THE BUILDINGS.

At the first meeting of the Board of Architects in Buffalo
it was decided that the general style of buildings should
be "a free treatment of the Renaissance" — that is to say, a
style of buildings where columns are little employed, de-
pending for its character more upon long lines of arcades

Exposition. 67

and richly detailed openings; upon red tiled roofs in
brilliant contrast with softly tinted walls, rather than
upon the stately and monumental columns of the classic
style employed at Chicago. It was also thought appro-
priate to employ such a style because it would be more in
keeping with the central idea of this Exposition — that is to
say, Pan-American — since the architecture of South Amer-
ica and Mexico is virtually Spanish Renaissance. Staff is
to be employed in the construction of the buildings, which
will be like the method used in building the Dewey Arch,
except in the electrical tower, where the skeleton must
necessarily be of steel.

FLOWERS AND FOLIAGE.

In contrast to the Chicago Exposition, color will play as
important a part as form. Besides the color of the roofs,
broken here and there by towers, the arcades, in conspicuous
places, will be brilliantly decorated — a uniform scheme har-
monizing the whole. All the terraces and parterres are to
be profusely furnished with bay trees and orange trees, in-
terspersed with embroidery gardens. The subordinate
courts will be massed with dark green cypress trees afcout
huge circular basins of water, exhibiting water plants. The
canals, which surround the central group of Exposition
buildings, are to be lined with double rows of poplar trees,
and the reaches of ground between these and the Exposition
boundaries are to be banked here and there with heavy
masses of dark foliage, richly contrasting with the light
surfaces of the buildings, and completely shutting out the
world beyond.

ELABORATE ELECTRICAL DISPLAY.

The lighting for night effects is being studied by Luther
Stieringer, expert. The electrical power, furnished, as is
all the running power of the Exposition, by Niagara Falls,
offers a greater opportunity for esthetic experiments than
has ever before been possible anywhere. The Electrical

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John N. Scatcherd. Chairman Executive Comnnittee — Pan-American Exposition.
(68)

Exposition. 69

Tower is to be treated as a focusing point for flash lights,
and for reflections of every color from the illuminated
fountains beneath, and all of these lights will in turn be
reflected to the thousands of spectators who will congregate
in the great central courts, and mirrored up from the bright
lagoon. The general lines of the building, as well as those
picturesque features, such as towers and domes, of which
there are many, will all be outlined by incandescent lamps,
while the most unique effect of all will be the huge lighted
globe of jeweled glass, 350 feet in the air, on top of the
Electrical Tower, on which will be visibly outlined North
and South America.

BUILDING THE EXPOSITION.

Ground was broken for the Exposition on September
26, 1899, and the work has been carried forward with all
the rapidity that the weather conditions would permit.
The plans of the Exposition contemplate a system of pic-
turesque waterways for pleasure boats surrounding the
main group of buildings. The excavation of these canals
has required the expenditure of a vast amount of labor.

The preparation of the horticultural features has been
pushed with no less energy. Many thousands of cuttings
and shrubs have been planted and many large trees have
been moved to places where their foliage will contribute
to the beauty of the completed Exposition.

One important building has been finished and other
large buildings are in process of rapid construction.

A WONDERFUL ELECTRICAL EXPOSITION.

It is a part of the plan to make the Pan-American Ex-
position also the greatest Electrical Exposition ever con-
templated. Every department of electrical science will be
covered, either in the form of exhibits or in elaborate public
displays, as conspicuous features of the Exposition. The
building to be devoted to Electricity is west of the great
6

70 Fan- Amebic AN

Electrical Tower and on the north side of the Mall opposite
the Machinery and Transportation Building. It is 500 feet
long and 150 feet wide, with a dome 159 feet high. The
visitor who comes expecting to see the greatest electrical
-wonders of this electrical age will in no wise be disap-
pointed.

SCOPE OP THE EXPOSITION.

The magnitude of the Pan-American Exposition may to
some extent he appreciated when it is understood that one
of its chief purposes is to illustrate the progress of the last
century in all the states and countries of the Western Hem-
isphere. To that end the President of the United States
issued to all governments in the Three Americas special
invitations to participate in the Exposition. Hearty ac-
ceptances have been received from many of them, includ-
ing Canada, Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, Brazil, Argen-
tine Republic, Bolivia, Chile, Nicaragua, Salvador, Guada-
loupe, Dutch Guiana, Costa Rica, Peru, Venezuela and Haiti.
Responses are expected from the others soon. Many of the
States will have special buildings and extensive exhibits.

The Exhibits of the Exposition are divided into fifteen
great classes, as follows:
Electricity and Electrical Appliances.
Fine Arts; Painting, Sculpture and Decoration.
Graphic Arts; Typography, Lithography, Steel and Copper-
plate Printing, Photo-Mechanical Processes, Drawing,
Engraving and Bookbinding.
Liberal Arts; Education, Engineering, Public Works, Con-
structive Architecture, Music and the Drama.
Ethnology, Archaeology, Progress of Labor and Invention,

Isolated and Collective Exhibits.
Agriculture, Food and its Accessories, Agricultural Machin-
ery and Appliances.
Horticulture, Viticulture, Floriculture,
liive Stock.
Forestry and Forest Products.

{''V

72 Fan-American

Fish, Fisheries, Fish Products and Apparatus for Fishing.
Mines and Metallurgy.
Machinery.
Manufactures.

Transportation Exhibits, Railways, Vessels, Vehicles.
Exhibits from the Hawaiian Islands, Puerto Rico and the
Philippine Islands.

Besides the classified exhibits there will be numerous
collective exhibits having special sanction and occupying
special buildings.

EXPOSITION RESOURCES.

Authorized Capital ^2,500,000

Authorized Bond Issue 2,500,000

United States Government 500,000

New York State Appropriation 300,000

Aggregate Resources 15,800,000

GENERAL FEATURES.

More than twenty large buildings and massive arcnitec-
tural features are included in the plan of the Exposition.
Besides these there will be the numerous State and foreign
buildings and buildings for special exhibits. As the visitor
enters the grounds at the main entrance on Lincoln park-
way at Forest Avenue (A) he may take the intramural
railway for a trip around the grounds, or he may stroll
leisurely for a third or half mile through the beautiful
park, enjoying many pleasing sights as he proceeds. On
his left will be the Albright Art Gallery (Fig. 1), the gift
of a prominent citizen of Buffalo. Crossing the bridge over
a narrow part of the lake the sight-seer will come to the
approach (D) bridging the intramural railway. Then comes
the Fore Court. At his left are the beautiful Music Gardens
(F). At his right about fifteen acres are devoted to the State
and Foreign Buildings, forming a large court (H).

Exposition. 73

Crossing the Triumphal Bridge (G) over the Mirror
Lakes (I-I) he will come to the great Esplanade, where
250,000 people may congregate upon special occasions. The
view at every step unfolds into greater magnificence. To
the right of the Esplanade are the Government Buildings
(2-2-2), rising in exquisite architectural proportions and
so elaborate in detail that one must pause to study them
in order to enjoy more fully their impressive beauty. In
the foreground are fountains sparkling and dancing like
things alive, and the sunken gardens, rich with blossoms
and rare foliage. The Government Buildings are connected
by arcades, forming a great semi-circular court, the artistic
effect of which commands unhesitating admiration.

On the far left is the companion group of buildings, of
somewhat smaller proportions, but no less beautiful. These
are the Horticultural (Fig. 7), Graphic Arts (6) and For-
estry and Mines (5) Buildings.

Crossing the Esplanade (K), to the immediate right
and left are the Ethnology (3) and Music (4) Buildings.
In front is the Court of the Fountains (Q), with its won-
derful and fascinating beauty. The electrical effects to be
presented here at night will make it a fairyland of enchant-
ing brilliancy and loveliness, an achievement that was im-
possible until electricity supplied the means for producing
such novel displays of light and color.

On the west side of the Court of the Fountains is the
Machinery and Transportation Building (II), 500 by 350
feet, with a great central court. On the east side stands
the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building (10), of the
same general dimensions. Crossing the Mall (W-W), on the
right hand, the big building to be devoted to the Agricul-
tural Exhibits (12), meets the vision. On the left is the
Electrical building (13). Between the two stands the great
steel Electrical Tower, 350 feet high, its foundation in a
large aquatic basin. This immense tower, of imposing de-
sign, magnificent in its elaborate electrical features, will
be the most conspicuous object on the grounds. Elevators

(7-4)

Exposition. 75

will carry visitors to the grand restaurant and to any of
the numerous promenade floors at various heights. Near
the summit of the Tower will be a balcony commanding an
extensive view of city, lake, river and country for many
miles in all directions.

Next north of the Electrical Tower is the Plaza (Y), its
western boundary being the large restaurant building and
entrances to the Midway (15), and on the eastern side, the
Stadium (Z). On the north side are monumental colon-
nades and entrances from the railroad station, known as
the Propylsea (U). The Midway covers twenty acres and the
Stadium will be capable of seating about 25,000 people.

East of the Agricultural and Manufactures Buildings
are the Live Stock exhibits (18-18), covering about ten
acres. The numerous smaller buildings are to be allotted
space in the park and between the main group and Elm-
wood Avenue.

THE PLAZA.

Standing at the great Electric Tower and looking to the
north, the visitor will have before him the Plaza or Square,
a beautiful open space 350 by 500 feet. On the opposite, or
north, side of the Plaza will be the Propylaea or monu-
mental entrances, connected by a curved colonnade 280
feet long. These form an architectural screen of excep-
tional beauty, shutting out the steam and trolley railway
station at the northern end of the Exposition grounds.

A large building at the left, 341 feet long and 52 feet
wide, with towers 164 feet high, will be used for restau-
rant purposes. This forms also the eastern entrance to the
Midway or pleasure ground, where the visitor may find a
collection of novel entertainments that will astonish the
most cosmopolitan traveler.

Directly across the Plaza from the Restaurant Building
is a companion structure of the same dimensions, forming
the entrance to the Stadium, or Athletic Field, where 25,000
6

76 , Fan- Amebic AN

people may be seated to enjoy the high-class contests in
the athletic sports, in which champions from all parts of
the world will participate.

A terrace, slightly raised above the general level, will
form the central portion of the Plaza. This terrace will
surround a sunken garden, in the center of which will be a
band stand, the terrace affording a large space for listeners.

THE STADIUM.

The completed Stadium for the Pan-American Exposi-
tion at Buffalo next year will offer to the lovers of sports
the most spacious and splendid arena ever erected in Amer-
ica. The Athletic Carnival to be held during the great
Exposition will be the most notable in the history of
American sport. The co-operation of many of the best
promoters of athletic games and contests has been secured.
Visitors to the Pan-American Exposition may therefore
expect to witness the meeting of the most famous athletes
of the world, in competition for prizes worthy of their best
feats of endurance, strength and skill.

It is said that the great Colosseum at Rome, built in the
first century of the Christian Era, could accommodate 87,-
000 spectators. The Pan-American Stadium will be 129 feet
longer and but ten feet narrower than the historic amphi-
theatre of Rome. The Stadium, however, will have a
larger arena, and the seating capacity is estimated for
25,000 people. The top row of seats will be sixty feet above
the ground, and every seat will command a perfect view
of the vast interior. Standards are to be placed at various
points for the support of awnings in such a way that they
will not obstruct the view from the other seats.

The Stadium will have a quarter-mile track and a suffi-
ciently large space inside of this for any of the athletic
games. Great attention has been paid to having a large
number of aisles to reach the seats, and, in addition to the
principal entrance on the west, there are provided seven

EXPOSTTIOX.

77

large exits. These exits are made of sufficient breadth and
height to admit, in case of need, the largest vehicles or
floats, as it is proposed to use the Stadium for certain pa-
geants, exhibits of automobiles in operation, judging of
live stock, horses, agricultural machinery, road machinery,
etc. No exhibitor has ever had such a splendid arena in
which his exhibits could be displayed. The space under
the seats is to be used for exhibition purposes, and is in
itself the equivalent of a very large building.

The Armory.

A large and picturesque building forms the main en-
trance to the Stadium. This is 241 feet long by 52 feet wide,
with towers 164 feet high. The style is in conformity with
that of the other buildings, with an arcaded effect in the
lower story, red tiled roof, broad eaves and bright colors.
The old Spanish towers give a finished beauty to the struc-
ture and make it one of the most prominent features of the
Exposition.

The Stadium resembles in a general way that erected
at Athens a few years ago, although this one can be, of

78 ^ Pan- Amebic AN

course, only a temporary structure. It is intended as a
model of what it is hoped may be executed some day in
permanent form.

The Stadium will cover ten acres of ground and its sit-
uation is on the east side of the Plaza, opposite the Mid-
way. It is near the great entrances from the steam and
trolley railway station, at the extreme north end of the
Exposition grounds.

THE GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS.

So vast is the number of valuable and interesting objects
for exhibition in the possession of the United States Gov-
ernment that none but a building of great proportions could
possibly contain them. Instead of one building, however,
at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, N. Y., in 1901,
the Federal group will consist of three massive structures
connected by colonnades. The main building of this splen-
did architectural trinity will be 130 feet wide and 600 feet
long. The others will each be 150 feet square.

The Government work is under the direction of James
Knox Taylor, Supervising Architect of the Treasury De-
partment. The group will be treated architecturally in a
modified Spanish Renaissance, the details suggesting a Mex-
ican rather than a strictly Spanish origin. Like the others,
these buildings will be constructed of staff, already made
familiar to the public by its use at the Chicago and more
recent Omaha Exposition. The color scheme, in marked
contrast to that used at Chicago, will be rich and brilliant,
the lavish use of color and gilding giving, with the intricate
plastic decorations and sculpture groups, an ensemble both
striking and interesting. Portions of the roofs, covered
with red Spanish tiles, will add much to the character of
the buildings as a whole.

. In plan, the buildings are shaped like a letter U, the
opening being toward the west. The main building corre-
sponds to the bottom of the U, which will accommodate the
greater portion of the Government exhibits, the administra-

Exposition. 79

tive offices, guard room, etc. Its center will be surmounted
by a dome, the apex of which, 250 feet above the main floor
level and crowned with a figure of Victory twenty feet in
height, will form one of the most conspicuous features of
the Exposition grounds. Connected by colonnades to the
main building are the two lesser buildings or pavilions, one
of which is intended to hold an exhibition typical of life
and labor in the Government's new possessions; while the
other will contain a branch station of the United States
Weather Bureau, and the exhibit, aquariums, etc., of the
United States Fish Commission.

Inlets from the lagoon fill the spaces within the colon-
nades connecting the pavilions with the main building. The
central plaza, the space enclosed by the arms of the U, is
decorated by steps, terraces and formal flower beds, making
an easy and beautiful approach to the main entrance under
the dome.

HORTICULTURAL, GRAPHIC ARTS, FORESTRY AND
MINES BUILDINGS.

The main buildings of the Exposition are so arranged
as to form a vast court in the shape of an inverted letter
T, the horizontal, or transverse court, lying east and west.
At the extreme west end of this horizontal are the Horti-
cultural, Graphic Arts and Forestry and Mines Buildings.
The Horticultural Building, 220 feet square, is flanked on
the south by the Forestry and Mines, and on the north by
the Graphic Arts Building, each 150 feet square. The
whole group is connected with arcades, forming a semi-
circular court, in which will stand the "Fountain of the
Seasons."

The Horticultural Building will have a central lantern
240 feet high, at the intersection of the four arms of a
Greek cross, which includes in its angles four small domes.
Deeply recessed arched entrances are features of each
facade.

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Exposition. 81

companion structures of the same size and style, having
four corner towers. On the east facades are vaulted log-
gias of three arches each, which form the main entrances.
Colored bas-reliefs will ornament the broad white walls,
while the pilasters of the facades and arcades will be dec-
orated with arabesques of twining vines, fruit, flowers,
birds and children. The colored decorations will be con-
fined chiefly to the vaulted ceilings of the loggias.

Two colored compositions will adorn the space above
the eastern entrance of the Horticultural Building. These
will represent Ceres, goddess of the harvest, bearing in her
arms a sheaf of golden wheat. Three lions, led by Flora
and Primavera, will draw her chariot.

ELECTRICITY BUILDING.

Elaborate designs have recently been completed for the
Electricity Building for the Pan-American Exposition. Dis-
plays of all kinds in the practical and artistic uses of
electricity, together with complete exhibits of electrical
machinery and appliances, are to be conspicuous features,
of the great Exposition.

The designs contemplate a very handsome and com-
modious building. The structure is to be 500 feet from
east to west, and 150 feet wide, giving an exhibition space
of 75,000 square feet.

The south facade fronts The Mall and the north fronts
the Midway. The east end is toward the massive Electric
Tower, while the west faces the Grand Canal. The build-
ing is long, low and inviting. The design of the facades
shows artistic grouping. The openings of the pergola-like
loggias, placed at frequent intervals, present a delightful
effect, showing more and more of the details of the pilasters
and openings as the eye travels to the end of the building
farthest away from the observer.

There is a pleasing ending at each corner of the struc-
ture, with a low-domed pavilion tower, and the building
is interrupted at the center by a double-towered entrance.

82

Pan- Amebic AN

This entrance, wide and high, is spanned by an ornamental
arch and supported on each side by columns. The towers,
also, have minor entrances through them.

The connecting work between the towers, the towers
themselves, the pavilions at the corners of the building,
and similar places, are to be brilliantly illuminated and
made gay with banners and flags.

The modelled relief work of the building is of the choic-
est design. The general ornamentation of the structure

Machinery and Transportation.

is to be frescoes in an interesting mixture of reds, greens
and yellows. The general color scheme follows that of the
Machinery and Transportation Building and other groups
of buildings of the Exposition. The structure was designed
by Green & Wicks of Buffalo.

MACHINERY AND TRANSPORTATION BUILDING.

One of the big buildings of the Exposition will be that
devoted to Machinery and Transportation. This will be
500 by 350 feet, with a central court 100 by 175 feet. Its
location is on the west side of the main group, opposite the
Court of the Fountains. It is built in the type— as all the

Exposition. 83

other principal buildings are — of the Spanish Renaissance,
modified to suit the conditions of the Exposition. The
work is far more ornate, however, with roofs laid with
red tile and the cemented walls brilliant with color. The
colors are to be reds and yellows in light tints. The
facades will present an arcaded effect, with broad over-
hanging eaves, in imitation of the old mission buildings
found in California and Mexico. Each facade will be
broken by an important architectural feature, and each
corner flanked with low pavilions, the design giving large
plain surfaces for color, while the eaves give deep shadows.
The loggias, balconies, pavilions and other places are to
be ornamented with shrubs, vines and flowers, blending
with the coloring of the building. The openings are grilled
with specimens of wrought-iron "Rejas" or grill screens,
such as are seen in examples of Spanish architecture of
the sixteenth century.

The building has numerous entrances, the principal ones
being in the center of the four facades. Once inside the
structure, the size will be appreciated. All the towers,
pavilions and other proper spaces are to be brilliantly il-
luminated and decorated with banners and flags.

The Central Court will be a veritable tropical garden,
with a long narrow pool containing interesting specimens
of aquatic life, and will have winding paths and seats
among the flowers and shrubbery, where the weary visitor
may find rest and diversion from his study of the more
practical features of the Exposition.

THE SERVICE BUILDING.

The large Service Building, although small in compari-
son with the big Exposition structures, was completed in
thirty-two working days, and was the first building erected
on the grounds. It is the present home of a large corps
of oflBcers and employes having immediate charge of the
constructive work of the Exposition. This handsome build-
ing is on the west side of the grounds, and is 95 by 145 feet.

N^-..

C84)

FXPOSITION. ' 85

two stories high. A broad arched driveway on the north
side leads to an inner court. To the right and left of the
driveway are entrances to the corridors that open into the
various rooms of the building.

In this building are the offices of the Director of Works,
the Landscape Architect, Superintendent of Building Con-
struction, Purchasing Agent, Chief Engineer, Mechanical
and Electrical Engineer, with their numerous assistants.
On the second floor is a large draughting room for the use
of the architects, with fire-proof vaults at hand for the
valuable drawings. In this building will also be the head-
quarters for the police and hospital service, the fire de-
partment and the officers in charge of the transportation
and installation of exhibits, and other officers. The build-
ing is equipped with a cellar, kitchen, dining-room and
numerous sleeping apartments, for the accommodation and
comfort of those whose work requires their continuous
presence on the grounds.

THE ELECTRIC TOWER.

The dignified and stately beauty of the great Electric
Tower, which will form the conspicuous center-piece of the
Pan-American Exposition, will command the rapt admira-
tion of every visitor. The genius of the architect has been
taxed to preserve lines and elements of beauty in a work
of such tall proportions, but the problem has been well
mastered.

The height of the tower is 348 feet above the surface of
the broad basin in which it stands. Its position is between
the Court of the Fountains and the Plaza, on the north
side of the Mall. It looks down upon the Agricultural
Building on the east and the Electricity Building on the
West. The Tower proper is flanked on the east and west
by long curved colonnades, which sweep to the southward
and terminate in airy pavilions, forming a semi-circular
space 200 feet across. Within this space and in a high
niche in the main body of the Tower are cascades, while
7

86 ' Pan-American

all about the basin are leaping jets and countless playful
figures, each with its spurt of water, combining to make
a brilliant water scene. At the center of the niche is a tall
geyser fountain, whose waters find their way from the
high basin within the niche over successive ledges and
among a multitude of vases to the level of the pool.

The main body of the Tower is eighty feet square. From
the surface of the water to the top of the colonnades is
seventy-five feet. This portion of the structure is enriched
by a system of decorative rusticated bands, which give an
aspect of great solidity to the base. The shaft of the Tower
is treated with great simplicity. The center of each side
is paneled with fantastically perforated work, through
which is indistinctly revealed the massive framework of the
Tower. This feature is calculated to produce a remarkable
effect when lighted from within, as it is the intention to
do. The main shaft of the Tower terminates in an elaborate
entablature at the height of 200 feet. The crown of the
Tower rests upon this entablature, and is composed of three
stories of diminishing proportions and varying design.
The lower of these stories is an arcaded loggia, rich in or-
namentation and having the wall surfaces brilliantly
colored. Pavilionettes at the corners terminate in light
fantastic cupolas. The second stage, or lantern of the
Tower crown, is in the form of a high, circular colonnade,
entirely open, so as to allow the effect of the sky to be
seen between the columns. A spiral staircase within the
colonnade leads to the last stage of the Tower, the cupola,
over whose soaring dome is poised the superb figure of
Electricity herself, thus dominating the entire Exposition,
which owes so much to her generously exerted power.

From the water to the feet of the figure of Electricity
is a vertical distance of 331 feet. The figure is seventeen
feet in height.

The entrance to the Tower is across an ornamented
bridge from the Plaza, on the north side. Elevators will
carry passengers to the various floors, which will be de-

Exposition. 87

voted to different purposes of the Exposition, such as
reception rooms, offices, restaurants, belvederes and amuse-
ment halls. A large restaurant, at a height of 200 feet, will
give the diner a broad and beautiful view of the Exposition
and the surrounding landscape. From the cupola the eye
can sweep the whole Niagara Frontier, and look far into
Canada, beyond the majestic river that separates that
country from the States.

Sculpture plays an important part in the decoration of
the Tower. Two magnificent monumental groups of statu-
ary flank each of the four sides of the base. Above the
water niche in the southern face of the Tower is a mag-
nificent escutcheon, representing the arms and seal of the
United States. In the spandrels of the arch above the
niche are sculptures in high relief. The pavilions and
wings are also richly decorated with sculptures and other
architectural devices. The entire exterior of the Tower
will be studded with myriads of electric lights, so arranged
that a great variety of effects can be secured. The use of
electric lights in combination with the sparkling fountains
and cascades will produce scenes of fantastic beauty.

ADVANTAGES OF SITUATION.

No great Exposition in this country was ever so favor-
ably situated to claim the patronage of a vast number of
the people. Buffalo is the chief gateway of traffic between
the East and the West, and nearly all the great railway
systems of the East and the Middle West have terminals
at this point. Nearly all the transportation lines of four
of the Great Lakes have Buffalo for their eastern terminal.
More than forty million peoi)le have their homes within
one night's ride of this city, while Chicago, at the time of
the World's Columbian Exposition, had but half the number
within the same distance. The grand and imposing char-
acter of the Pan-American Exposition, when fully under-
stood, cannot fail to bring to Buffalo a multitude of visitors.

Twenty-six railway lines, including twelve trunk lines,

88 Pan-American Exposition.

give the city a service of 250 passenger trains daily. There
are nearly 700 miles of steam railway tracks inside the city
limits. A thorough train service between Buffalo and all
the principal cities of the country is in daily operation.
The traveler from St. Louis can reach Buffalo in twenty
hours, from Chicago in thirteen hours, from Indianapolis
in twelve hours, from Cincinnati in twelve hours, from
Columbus in eight hours, from Cleveland in four hours,
from Pittsburg in nine hours, from Detroit in six hours,
from Port Huron in seven hours, from Washington in
fifteen hours, from Philadelphia in thirteen hours, from
Baltimore in thirteen hours "rom New York in nine hours,
from Boston in fourteen hours, from Montreal in fifteen
hours, from Toronto in three hours. From nearly all these
cities the trip can be made without a change of cars. More
definite information will be cheerfully given by local rail-
road officials. During the Exposition all the railway lines
centering here will have the right to use the tracks which
run to the Exposition Grounds, so that passengers from
different points may alight at the gates in the great union
station designed specially for the steam railway traffic.

A PARADISE FOR WHEELMEN.

Buffalo is widely known among wheelmen for its splen-
did park system and its asphalt pavementSo On January
1, 1900, there were 223 miles of asphalt pavements. Every
year several miles are added. It is now possible for wheel-
men to reach almost any part of the city on the smooth
roadways. To this mileage must be added the fine broad
cycle paths through the parks, and the hard macadam park
roads many miles in extent.

Niagara Falls.

TO ALL WHO TRAVEL.

nVTO attempt has been made to pack all the history of the
Niagara frontier into these pages; for, to the average
sightseeing tourist, historical facts are like an overloaded valise
— hard to carry. The history has not been entirely left out,
because a great deal of it is romantic and entertaining; but the
effort has been to make the past less prominent than the present.
As an historical hand-book, this v^ork might easily have been
doubled in size without exhausting the subject. The whole
frontier of the Niagara, from Erie to Ontario, is a wonderfully
rich held for the historian, as it is for the geologist. It is hoped
that enough on both these lines of research is contained herein to
add to the knowledge and enjoyment of the tourist thousands.

The chapters that follow have been written in the interest of
the tourist public. They have been written by one who knows his
field ' ' by heart, " and whose aim in this work has been to put
himself in the place of the visitor, and make his directions and
descriptions as plain, straightforward, and trustworthy as possible.

HOW TO GET THERE.

If the Hibernian who thought it very lucky that great rivers
often flow past great cities has visited Niagara Falls, he has
probably remarked that it is also fortunate that many railroads
run to a place which so many people wish to visit. Niagara
Falls is one of the points of easiest access in the world. It is fif-
teen hours' ride from Boston, twelve from New York, fourteen
from Chicago, and one hour from Buffalo. Travelers by the

7 (QQ\

90 NlAGABA FALLS,

Grand Trunk (Chicago & Grand Trunk from Chicago) cross the
river on the Railway Suspension Bridge (opened 1855) and get a
fine view of the Upper Whirlpool Rapids, and a distant view of
the Falls, from the train. Travelers by the Michigan Central
cross the river on the Cantilever Bridge, getting a distant view of
the Falls; and also from Falls View Station, on the Canada
side, a fine general view of the Horseshoe and American Falls.
The New York Central reaches the Falls direct from Rochester,
and also by a line from Buffalo, twenty-two miles, which skirts
the east bank of the Niagara River for the greater part of the dis-
tance. The New York, Lake Erie & Western reaches the Falls
by a branch from Buffalo. Over the tracks of the New York
Central and the Erie run, besides trains of those roads, the
through trains of the Michigan Central and Grand Trunk, and
solid trains or through cars of the West Shore and Lehigh Valley
roads. Niagara Falls, N. Y., is the present terminus of the
Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg Railroad, although its early
extension to Buffalo has been announced as probable. The St.
Catherines & Niagara Central reaches Clifton, The New York,
Lackawanna & Western has taken steps for the construction of a
line from its present Buffalo terminus to the Falls, incorporated
as the Buffalo, Lackawanna & Pacific. Yet another line likely to
be built is the Buffalo, Thousand Islands & Portland, giving the
R,, W. & O. the Buffalo connection above mentioned. The
electric car line between Buffalo and Niagara Falls, equipped
with elegant and commodious cars running every fifteen minutes,
makes Niagara Falls more accessible than ever. It is a delight-
ful ride, particularly during the summer season, and is patronized
very extensively by the residents of Buffalo. In fact, this line has
a tendency to make the Falls a suburb of Buffalo. More than one
hundred trains daily arrive at, and depart daily from, Niagara Falls.

I^AMES AT NIAGAEA.

The traveler, especially if he has never visited the Falls, almost
always approaches the place with some confusion of mind as to
exact localities. If that is the reader's state of mind, let him read
the following carefully and set himself right.

NIAGABA FALLS,

91

The principal village on the river opposite the Falls is Niagara
Falls, N. Y. Years ago it was called Manchester, a name more
appropriate now than ever before, for the town is a considerable
manufacturing center, and bids fair to become much greater, as
we shall see further on; but it is not likely that its name will ever

The Falls seen from Falls View Station, Michigan Central R. R.

be anything but Niagara Falls. Two miles below, on the same
side of the river, is the town of Suspension Bridge, N. Y. Mid-
way is a residence section known as Clarksville. The consolida-
tion of Niagara Falls and Suspension Bridge villages under the
former name has long been discussed, and is likely to be accom-

92 ' NiAaAEA FALLS,

plished before many years. Opposite Suspension Bridge, on the
Canada side, is Niagara Falls, Ont., formerly Clifton, which name
is yet retained in the time-tables of the Michigan Central for that
station, the name '* Niagara Falls " being given to a station on the
hill above the Clifton House. The town of Niagara, Ont., often
called " Old Niagara," or " Niagara-on-the-Lake," is at the mouth
of the river on Lake Ontario, fifteen miles to the north of the
Falls.

The stranger will do well to remember that there are two
vicinities of principal interest — the vicinity of the Falls, and the
vicinity of the Whirlpool; they are three miles apart. A third
region might be added from Queenston on the Canada side,
and Lewiston on the American, to the mouth of the river — a
lovely region, but of which the chief interest is historic; the hasty
tourist too often neglects to see it.

There are street- cars in the towns on both sides of the river,
and one may ride from Niagara Falls, N. Y., to Suspension
Bridge village for five cents. Cars run every eight minutes. The
Suspension Bridge terminus is perhai)S ten minutes' walk distant
from points of interest on the river. Speaking of car-fares, let us
have a few plain words

AS TO EXPENSE AT NIAGARA.

The Falls are practically free. Every part of the New York
State Reservation, which includes the old Prospect Park and
adjacent shores, Bath, Goat, Luna, the Three Sisters, and several
other (inaccessible) islands, are absolutely free. There are no tolls,
and no one has a right to demand or collect fees of any visitor,
excejJt for the use of the Inclined Railway, which is owned by
the State. There is a charge of ten cents for riding down and up
again. The stair at the side of the railway is free. On Goat
Island, the descent to the Cave of the Winds, with guide and the
use of oil-cloth suit, costs one dollar. Use of stair, without guide
or suit, is free. It is a fine trip, but the visitor who is anxious to
save his dollars may omit it and yet get a good idea of scenery at
the Falls.

%^

Scale of Statute MTles,
0 5

10

Map of Niagara River.
(93)

94 , JSriAGARA FALLS.

It costs something to cross the river ; twenty-five or fifty cents
by row-boat, ferry, or the Maid of the Mist; twenty-five cents up-
ward (according as one walks or rides) to cross on either of the
Suspension Bridges. Once on the Canada side, however, the whole
bank of the river is free from Queenston to the Horseshoe, Above
the Falls, in Victoria Park, there is a toll of ten cents, which goes
toward Park maintenance, as the ten-cent charge at the Inclined
Railway on the American side is used for the maintenance of
that useful institution. The descent of the hydraulic lift at the
Table Rock ledge is twenty-five cents, or fifty cents with oil-
cloth suit. The Whirlpool Rapids elevators, on both sides of the
river, are at present in private hands, and the regulation fee of
fifty cents is charged at all of them. The Whirlpool elevator on
the America.1 side is in the DeVeaux College grounds, and here
also fifty cents is charged.

This is all, except what the visitor voluntarily pays for hotel
accommodation, carriage hire, photographs, and knickknacks,

FREE TOUKS.

Suppose the visitor wants to see all he can without spending a
cent.

He can walk from the Erie or New York Central stations, in
Niagara Falls village, down Falls Street to the entrance of the
Park in five minutes. In the Park he can go to Prospect Point
and get a general view of the Falls, the upper Suspension Bridge,
and the distant islands and Canada shore. He can go down the
stairs at the Inclined Railway house, and view the American Fall
from below. Returning, he can walk up the river bank to the
bridge, cross to Bath and Goat islands, descend the stair to Luna
Island, and visit every spot on Goat Island and the romantic
Three Sisters, returning by the north end of the main island, if
he is a good pedestrian, without the expenditure of anything but
muscular energy and enthusiasm.

If on the Canada side, as we have shown, he can enjoy the
finest of the general views, from the river bank between the
Clifton House and the Horseshoe, without cost. He must forego
the Canadian islands, unless willing to spend ten cents; but he

_.<_-_'ja:i--_ii4A'-^ jj^i^^^i^^m

95

96 • NiAaABA FALLS,

can tramp to the Wliirlpool, and even to Queenston, without
being called upon to spend a cent.

Most visitors, of course, are prepared for reasonable expendi-
tures. The following memoranda will show them, in convenient
form, the ordinary fees to be paid for the use of bridges, eleva-
tors, etc., not included in the government tracts:

Goat Island —Including guide and suiu ta go through "Cave of the

"Winds" $1.00

Prospect I'ark— Down and up Inclined Railway 10

Prospect Park—Round trip on Maid of the Mist, including rubber suit 50
New Bridge — Niagara Falls to Canada and retui^n, each person Ccar-

riage 25 cts.) 25

Museum— At Niagara Falls, N. Y. . 50

Under Horseshoe Falls— Canada side— guide and suit (without suit 25

cts.) 50

Old Suspension Bridge— Over and return 25

Whirlpool Rapids and Park— Inclined Railway, Canada side 50

Whirlpool Rapids and Park— Elevator, American side . . .50

Whirlpool— Stairs, American side 50

Niagara Falls to Suspension Bridge — Street-car over old bridge, Whirl-
pool Rapids Park (Canada side), return same way 40

If each is paid separately 85

Niagara Falls to Suspension Bridge— Street-car, walk to Buttery's Whirl-
pool Rapids elevator, retm-n same way 40

If each is paid separately , 60

Niagara Falls to Suspension Bridge— By street-car and retm-n 10

TOUK OF THE STATE PARK.

A good place to begin to see Niagara is at the parapet in Pros-
pect Park — which was the former name of this part of the State
Reservation, and by which it continues to be known. If the
object be to obtain a first general view of the great amphitheatre
below the Falls, an ideal place of outlook is the middle of the
upper Suspension Bridge; but as visitors will usually prefer not
to pay bridge-tolls until ready to cross to the other side, this view
may very well be deferred.

Many people say they are "disappointed" in their first view
of the Falls. This is partly because they look at the Falls from
above, instead of from below, where the prospect is much more
impressive-, partly because the distances and wide prospect dwarf

NIAGABA FALLS. 97

the height; and partly because many people think it the correct
thing to refuse to recognize the beautiful and sublime when it is
before them.

After taking a good general view from Prospect Point, we
recommend that the visitor go to the foot of the x\.merican Fall
\yy the Inclined Railway, the entrance to which is but a few steps
from Prospect Point.

By some three hundred stairs, or, better still, in a car running
on an inclined railway, we descend to the water's edge. 'These cars
are raised and lowered by water-power by means of a three-inch
cable three hundred feet long, running around and over steel
wheels. This cable-car has been running many years, but there has
never been an accident. At the foot of the stairway tickets may
be obtained for the trip on the Maid of the Mist. The Shadow
of the Rock, as the space between the sheet of water at the end
of the American Fall is called, is no longer accessible, the authori-
ties considering the spot dangerous.

Here were formerly a stone observatory and dressing-rooms,
where visitors put on oil-cloth or rubber suits preparatory to
the trip under the American Fall; but when the State took
possession, the trip was discontinued, and the buildings torn
down. •

Over the rocks, near by, is formed, every severe winter, a huge
mountain of solid ice, which does not entirely disappear till the
end of May. This ice mountain has been one hundred feet high.
On the top of the observatory and dressing-room, too, the ice
often fornas four feet thick.

From this point, during seventy-five years, ran the old Bateau
Ferry. It has been replaced by the Maid of the Mist, which
runs up to the Horseshoe Fall, then back to the Canadian side,
and finally returns to its starting point. The fare is fifty cents.

Prospect Park was formerly owned by a private company,
which introduced electric lights with colored shades, an art gal-
lery, etc.; but in 1885 the State of New York secured the prop-
erty and discontinued these features. The State has done much
to beautify the Park, but the general policy is to restore things as
nearly as possible to a state of nature, Avithout the aid of artifi-
cial attractions. There are fine old trees in Prospect Park, and

1

^

- 4

Ir., ,:. ■

^^^^^ .

'^^[^^^■i

The American Fall from Goat Island.
(98)

NIAGABA FALLS. 99

numerous structures for the comfort of the public. It is a favor-
ite place for picnics, and there are no signs to ' ' keep off the
grass."

TO THE ISLANDS.

Returning from the foot of the Fall, walk or ride up the
American shore, past the rushing rapids, to Bath Island Bridge.
This is the only approach to one of the pleasantest spots in the
world. Bath Island lies midway in the river. It was formerly
covered with mills, which were removed when the State took
possession. The brick office of a vanished paper-mill has been
retained as a convenient meeting-place for the Reservation Com-
mission. On the left, up-stream, are Ship and Brig islands, so
called from their slight resemblance, in winter, to stranded craft
with bare masts. These islands should be bridged, as should the
small is'ands on the right. A second bridge conducts from Bath
to Goat Island. There are direct roads through the woods to the
west side of Goat Island, but the usual route is to turn to the
right. The path winds through a grove of beeches and elms, and
presently brings the visitor to a point of view whence he looks
back across the American Fall to Prospect Point, where he lately
stood. The view here is one of the loveliest at Niagara. Stairs
and a short bridge conduct down to Luna Island, so called because
the lunar bow is seen here under favorable circumstances. The
small portion of the Fall separated from the main cataract by Luna
Island is named Luna Fall. Under it, in the cavern formed by
the recessed cliff, is the Cave of the Winds.

From the further side of Luna Island, protected by an iron
railing, a most intimate view of the American Fall is had. It will
be observed that the line of the Fall is far more irregular than it
appears to be when seen from any other points.

The guide books have usually called upon visitors to stop at the
top of the Luna Island stairs and "see the so-called profiles,
formed by the inequality of projection in that portion of the
precipice which is formed by the western side of Luna Island.
The rock is close to and almost under the American Fall. They
obtain their name from their remarkable likeness to three human

LofC.

100

NIAGABA FALLS.

faces." Most people fail to see anything very " human " in these
rocks; but the distant outlook is so lovely that it doesn't need any
fancied accessories.
Once more re-
suming the path
that circles Goat
Island, glimpses of
the distant Horse-
shoe are soon ob-
tained. A short
walk brings one to
the Biddle Stair, by
which approach is
had to the Cave of
the Winds. This
famous stair is
named after Nicho-
las Biddle, one time
president of the
United States Bank
at Philadelphia,
who, in 1829, con-
tributed the funds
for its erection. The
Park Commissioners
have repeatedly asked the
Legislature to appropriate
funds for the construction of
an elevator at this point, but
the much-needed grant has
yet been made.

not

American Fall Prospect Park

The perpendicular height of the bank at this place is one hun-
dred and eighty -five feet, the staircase being eighty feet high and
consisting of ninety steps. From the foot of the stair a rude path
leads toward the foot of the Horseshoe Fall. It is one of the
points where there is yet room for improvement. A little outlay
would convert this rough and neglected spot into a popular point
of resort.

J!iiAGAiiA Falls. loi

To the right from the Biddle Stair runs the path to the Cave
of the Winds, or, as it is sometimes called (in the guide books
only), ^olus Cavern, by all means the best place to go behind the
sheet of water. It was first entered in 1834, and during the past
fifty-six years this curious but splendid cave has been the chief
charm of the locality, and has been visited annually by hundreds.
It is one hundred by one hundred and sixty feet in dimensions,
and one hundred feet in height. Having been excavated by the
action of the falling water, it forms a natural chamber through
which, with suitable dresses and guides, which can be secured for
a dollar, we can pass between the cataract and the rock, and see
the everchanging effect of the light passing through the descending
mass of water; take a bath in the mist and spray of old Niagara; pass
through the rainbows, and secure a novel sensation of commingled
terror and safety, from which we can emerge after a few minutes
as free from any other effect of the water as when we entered.

The formation of this cave was easy. The gradual wearing
away by the water of the shaly substratum of the precipice, left
the limestone rock above projecting about thirty feet beyond the
base, thus forming an open cave, over which descends the Luna
Fall. The compression of the atmosphere by the falling water is
here so great that the cave is rendered as stormy and turbulent as
that of old ^olus himself, from whose classical majesty, indeed,
it derived its first name.

If the wind is blowing down the rivei', or from the American
shore, you can stand with perfect safety upon a large rock, within
a few feet of the falling sheet, without inconvenience from the
spray. In 'he afternoon, when the sun shines, there is always a
splendid rainbow between the sheet of Water and the rock, within
a few feet of you ; and this is the only place on the globe where a
rainbow forming an entire circle can be seen. Two, and
sometimes three, have been seen at once.

Over and among the rocks at the foot of Luna Island formerly
ran paths with numerous bridges. It was the usual tour, except
by the timid, to pass through the Cave of the Winds, behind Luna
Island, and over these bridges, which were always green and
slippery with algae and the perpetual spray. The State has dis-
continued this risky and enjoyable feature.
8

The Horseshoe Fall from Goat Island.
(102)

Niagara falls. io3

After remounting the Biddle Stair, follow the path along the
bank to the left, and you will reach the spot where a huge slice of
the land has fallen. One slide occurred in 1843, and another in
1847. Within twenty years, more than twenty feet in width and
four hundred feet in length have gone down. Proceed a little
farther, and you stand above and in full view of the Canadian
Fall. Go down the hill and out to the Terrapin Rocks; it may be
tiresome, but it will repay you.

This bridge is subject to the action of the spray ; care should
be taken in crossing it. In the winter of 1852, a gentleman from
West Troy, N. Y. , while crossing to the tower, fell into the current,
and was carried to the verge of the Fall, where he lodged between
two rocks. Mr. Isaac Davy, assisted by a visitor, rescued him, by
throwing lines to him; he had just sufficient strength left to fasten
them around his body ; then they drew him to the bridge in an
exhausted condition. He remained speechless for several hours
after being taken to his hotel.

As you stand inside the iron rail and overlook the vast gulf
below, you are in the very center of Niagara.

The old Terrapin Tower, also called Horseshoe or Prospect
Tower, which stood on these rocks, was built, in 1833, of stones
gathered in the vicinity. It was a round tower forty-three feet
high, twelve feet in diameter at the base, and eight feet at the top,
with a gallery near the upper end — a rugged structure, in perfect
harmony with its surroundings. It was blown up by the wish of
a majority of the owners of the Goat Island Group, in 1873, on
the ground that it was unsafe. Table Rock, which fell in 1850,
was directly opposite, on the Canadian shore.

From this point one gets the best view of the shape of the Fall,
and the clearest idea of how it has been modified by the action of
the water. This action has been especially violent of late years.
On Sunday, February 1, 1852, a portion of the precipice, stretching
from the edge of the island to the tower, about one hundred and
twenty-five feet long and sixty feet wide, and reaching from near
the top to the bottom of the Fall, fell with a crash of thunder.
The next day another, a triangular piece, with a base of about
forty feet, broke off just below the tower. Between the two
portions that had thus fallen, stood a rectangular projection.

104

NIAGARA FALLS.

about thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide, extending from the
top to the bottom of the precipice. This mass loosened from the
main body of the rock and settled down perpendicularly about
nine feet, where it stood for years, an enormous column, one
hundred and fifty feet high by the dimensions given.

Bridge to Goat Island.

There is, however, little danger to visitors now from possible
landslides, as all parts of the river are regularly inspected and
carefully guarded by the local officials. Any sign of loosening
rock or sliding earth would be detected at once and closed off
with warning signs.

This Fall is often called the Canadian Fall. The boundary-
line between the United Stales and Canada was fixed by a com-
mission created by the Treaty of Ghent. It met at Utica, N. Y.,
in 1822, and designated the following boundary-line, which is
still in force: The line runs *' from the mouth of the Niagara

NIAGABA FALLS. 105

River up the middle of said river to the great falls, thence up the
Falls through the point of the Horseshoe, keeping to the west of Iris
or Goat Island."

Ilumm law has not changed the boundary, but natural law
has. The point of the Horseshoe is not fixed; in the last seventy-
years it has shifted very considerably; so that we have here a unique
example of a fluctuating boundary-line between two nations.

The width of the Horseshoe is about two thousand three hun-
dred and fifty feet. The deep green color of the water, espe-
cially in the angle, is due to the depth. In 1827, the MicMgan,
a vessel condemned as unseaworthy, was purchased and sent over
the Fall. She drew eighteen feet, and filled with water as she
went through the Rapids. As she went over the brink without
touching, the depth of the water was proved to be twenty feet.

As you reach the top of the bank, the path directly in front
will lead you through the wood back to the bridge, but you will
miss much if you take it. Turning to the right, you follow the
edge of the bank for about forty rods and reach a small stone
monument directly in your path, marked with a cross on the top,
the arms indicating the cardinal points of the compass. It was
set by the New York Stale Survey in 1842 to mark the recession
of the Falls.

A fine view is here had of the Canadian Rapids, which run at
the rate of twenty-eight miles an hour.

The cedar-lined way leads along the west side of the island, to
the Three Sister Islands, connected with Goat Island by substan-
tial suspension bridges in 1868. The first, second, and third
Sister lie one beyond another, the third being the farthest out in
the Canadian Rapids, From the rocks at the head of this little
islet it seems as if the terrible torrent which comes pouring down
from the south would sweep it away. Little Brother Island, just
north of the Sisters, is detached. Adventurous people have
reached it and returned in safety, but the experiment is not
recommended. A light bridge thrown across to it would pleas-
antly extend the tourist's ramble.

From the head of the third Sister may be seen one continuous
cascade, extending as far as the eye can reach, from Goat Island
across to the Canada shore, varying from ten to twenty feet in
8

106

NiAGABA Falls,

height. From this miniature Niagara rises a spray similar to that
of the great Falls.

The "Hermit's Cascade" is best seen from the first Sister
Island Bridge, by which it is spanned, and is a beautiful sight. It
is so called because Francis Abbott, the Hermit of the Falls, used to
bathe here in 1829. He was a young man, gentlemanly and accom-
plished, who for two years lived a solitary life at Niagara. He
had a hut near this spot on the island, and later on he built one
in what is now Prospect Park. He had but little intercourse with

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Above Goat Island.

anyone, wrote a great deal, and always in Latin, but destroyed all
manuscripts almost as soon as written. On Goat Island, at hours
when it was unfrequented, he delighted to roam, heedless, if not
oblivious, of danger. At that time a stick of timber eight inches
square extended from Terrapin Bridge eight feet beyond the
precipice. On this he has been seen at all hours of the night,
pacing to and fro, without the slightest tremor of nerve or hesi-

NIAGABA FALLS. 107

tancy of step. Sometimes he was seen sitting carelessly on the
extreme end of the timber — sometimes hanging from it by his
hands and feet. He belonged to a respectable English family,
and his reasons for leading this life were never known. He was
drowned while bathing near the foot of the Park Railway, in
1831. His body was recovered, and is buried in Oak wood Cem-
etery, Niagara Falls, near that of Captain Webb, and many
another victim of Niagara.

When you get back to Goat Island, you can return to the
bridge by a short way by taking the road straight ahead through
the woods. It is best, however, to see the other views, and to do
this you turn to your right, and follow the road directly east.
Heie one sees how it was possible for the island to have reached
a long way up-stream, for a bar extends up between the currents
for nearly half a mile, with a depth of water not over four feet.
This also shows how it was possible for people to visit the island
before the bridge was built. The upper (south) end of Goat
Island is tame but pleasant. Opposite it, on the American bank,
was, years ago, a favorite landing place for smugglers bringing
whisky into the States from Canada. Many a boat has run
across from Chippewa in dark nights, and ventured thus near to
the American Rapid and Fall, that the owner of its contraband
cargo might enjoy the unlawful but handsome profit on his
goods which the American market afforded. There is always
more or less smuggling across the Niagara, but the modern
smugglers take safer routes than this.

Still following the circuit of the island we reach, not far from
the bridge which leads back to the mainland, a spring of excel-
lent water, called Rebekah's Well. Whoever drinks here will
carry pleasant recollections of Goat Island away with him.

Had the tourist taken any of the roads which run through the
middle of the island, he would have had a short but delightful
passage through a fine bit of woods. Many of the trees on
Goat Island are among the oldest and largest to be found any-
where in Western New York.

Once more on the mainland, the rest of the Reservation
should not be neglected. The State's free domain extends along
the bank up to Port Day, a point on the shore about a mile above

108' NIAGABA FALLS.

the Falls, where a hydraulic canal opens from the river. This is
the lowest point of safe navigation on the Niagara. Nowhere
else is the good work of the State more apparent than along here.
The bank was formerly covered with mills and unsightly struct-
ures. All are now cleared away, and every year some progress is
being made toward restoring the region to a state of nature.

now NIAGARA WAS MADE FREE.

Everyone who enjoys the present freedom of Niagara should
have some knowledge of the way in which it was made free.

The idea was first publicly spoken of by Lord Duiferin, then
Governor-General of Canada, in a speech delivered in Toronto,
before the Ontario Society of Artists, September 26, 1S78. Shortly
after, Lord Dufferin had a conversation with Governor Lucius
Robinson of New York State, concerning Niagara's debased con-
dition. From this conversation is reckoned the beginning of
official action toward bringing about a better state of things. In
the following October, Lord Dufferin formally brought the mat-
ter to the attention of the New York State authorities in a letter
to Governor Robinson, who laid the project before the Legislature
in the following January, and recommended the appointment
of a commission to consider the subject. This commission in due
time recommended the acquisition of the lands adjoining the
Falls, and the appointment of a commission to take the necessary
legal measures.

Canadians are justified in claiming for Lord Dufferin the credit
of being the originator of the free park idea.

Americans may continue to maintain that Governor Robin
son deserves the honor of taking the first step to make the Falls
free.

As a matter of fact, all that either of them did was to become
impressed, rather tardily than otherwise, with the public senti-
ment in the matter, and to recommend legislative action. Lord
Dufferin urged the matter upon the Provincial Government of
Ontario; Governor Robinson brought it before the New York Legis-
lature; and the slow machinery of legislation and law did the rest.
There was much opposition, both in the form of private interests

3

NIAGABA FALLS.

109

and legislative indifference. A feature of the battle which was

waged against official hesitancy and stolidity was the sending to

the Legislature of 1880 ' ' a remarkable memorial asking for the

^ enfranchisement of Niagara," which had been ad-

y^ dressed in duplicate to the Governor-General of

'' Canada and the

Governor of New
York, by about six
hundred of the most
eminent men of the
United States, Can-
ada, and Great Brit-
ain, among them
Professor Max Mid-
ler, Sir John Lub-
bock, Thomas Car-
lyle, and John Rus-
kin. And the feat-
ure was the forma-
tion of the Niagara
Falls Association,
composed of repre-
sentative citizens of
New York City,
Boston, Brooklyn,
Buffalo, Philadel-
phia, and other cit-
ies. Howard Potter
was its president,
and Daniel Hunt-
ington, George William Curtis, and Cornelius Yanderbilt were its
vice-presidents. Its object was "to promote legislative and other
measures for the restoration and improvement of the natural
scenery of Niagara Falls, in accordance with the proposed plan
of the Commissioners of the State Survey, as presented in their
special report on the subject, under a concurrent resolution of the
Legislature of the State of New York, May 19, 1879."

Horseshoe Falls, fro

110 « NIAGABA FALLS.

Bills to carry out this plan were introduced in 1880 and 1881,
but failed to pass. No action was taken in 1882. In 1883, " an
Act to authorize the selection, location, and appropriation of cer-
tain lands in the village of Niagara Falls for a State Reservation,
and to preserve the scenery of the Falls of Niagara," was passed,
and on April 30, 1883, was signed by Governor (now ex-Pres-
ident) Cleveland, and became a law. William Dorsheimer, Andrew
H. Green, J. Hampden Robb, Sherman S. Rogers, and Martin B.
Anderson were appointed commissioners to select the necessary
lands; one hundred and seven acres, embracing Goat Island and
adjacent islands. Prospect Park, from the brink of the cataract to
the new Suspension Bridge, also a strip of land running from
Prospect Park to Port Day, bordering the river and containing the
buildings which marred the beauty of the natural scenery, were
bought from private owners for one million four hundred and
thirty-three thousand four hundred and twenty-nine dollars and
fifty cents. On a memorable 15th of July, 1885, the New York
State Park at Niagara Falls was opened with ceremony, attended
by sixty thousand people, and declared free to all the world.

The improvements which have been made consist chiefly of the
removal of mills and other unsightly buildings, the planting of
trees, etc., and a general effort to restore the river banks and
islands to a state of nature. The landscape gardening has been
carried on in accordance with plans perfected by Mr. Frederick
Law Olmsted, and Mr. James T. Gardner, director of the State
Survey in 1879. The work of improvement would go on faster
if the Slate were more liberal in appropriations.

EFFECTS OF FREEDOM.

During the season (about half the year) of 1885, the year the
State Park was established, the number of visitors, as reported by
the efficient superintendent, the Hon. Thomas V. Welch, ranged
from one thousand to six thousand daily, at least four times as
many as before the establishment of the Reservation. During the
excursion season of 1886, two thousand seven hundred and forty-
one cars arrived, bringing one hundred and sixty-six thousand
two hundred and eighty excursionists; the proportion of well-be-

NIAGABA FALLS, 111

haved people may be inferred from the fact that only five arrests
for any cause whatever were made on the Reservation during the
entire year. In 1887, from June 1st to October 24th, three
thousand one hundred and sixty-nine cars brought one hundred
and eighty-seven thousand seven hundred and eighty-one ex-
cursionists. On August 19th of that year fourteen special trains
arrived, aggregating one hundred and sixty-seven cars, with over
ten thousand people. No accident occurred on the Reservation
during the season, and but three arrests for violation of ordi-
nances were made. In 1888 the visitors, as estimated by the
Park Superintendent, was about three hundred thousand, of
which one hundred and seventy-one thousand and six hundred
were "excursionists." In 1889 the same authority put the
number of visitors at five hundred thousand, with a falling-off of
excursionists to one hundred and forty-two thousand eight
hundred and sixty.

These figures show how popular Niagara has again become,
and how admirably the free system works, so far as a rational use
and enjoyment of privileges is concerned.

ON THE CANADA SIDE OF NIAGARA.

It is a little hard for an American — i. e., a United Statesman —
to acknowledge that Niagara Falls is seen to better advantage
from the Canadian side than from under the Stars and Stripes.
Such is the fact, however. The best general view is had from
the Canada side. The most effective view of the Horseshoe is
from the path that approaches the tunnel under the Canadian
edge of the Fall— the most effective, that is, for sublimity and
grandeur. For mere beauty, we think Luna Island Fall takes
precedence.

THE QUEEN VICTORIA NIAGARA FALLS
PARK.

Tliis is the long but loyal name under which the lands border-
ing the river on the Canadian side, in the vicinity of the Falls, have
been known since the spring of 1887. We have already referred, in

112- NIAGABA FALLS.

sketching the history of the Reservation on the American side, to
the honorable part borne by Lord Dufferin in making Niagara
free. The Canadian Government moves slowly, but once under
way, it does its work well. The New York State Reservation
was opened July 15, 1885. At a meeting of the Ontario Provin-
cial Parliament, in that year, preliminary steps were taken. By
the spring of 1887 the title in all the lands embraced by the Park
(as first established) had passed to the Government, in the name of
Queen Victoria, and the Commissioners began the work of deal-
ing and improving the grounds. The Commissioners were Col.
(now Sir) Casimir S. Gzowski, K. C, M. G., chairman; John
Woodburn Langmuir, John A. Orchard, and John Grant Mac-
donald. The last-named gentleman has since died, and no suc-
cessor has been named at the time this Guide is compiled; other-
wise the Commission remains as first organized. Mr. James
Wilson has been the very eflficient superintendent of the Park
from its establishment.

The lands first named, the Queen Victoria Niagara Falls Park,
cover an area of one hundred and fifty-four acres. They extend
along the western bank of the Niagara from the Clifton House
on the north (near Canadian end of upper Suspension Bridge)
to smooth water above the head of the Rapids, a distance of two
and one half miles; the width embraces all the land lying between
the water's edge and the steep wooded bluffs, which forms a
magnificent natural boundary on the west. This area includes,
besides the strip of main land. Cedar Island, about one thousand
two hundred feet long, and the group ojjposite the head of the
Rapids, formerly called Clark Hill Islands, now better named
Dufferin Islands.

In 1890, the Victoria Park — as it is called for short — was
extended by the acquisition, on the part of the Government, of a
strip of land fifty feet wide from the top of the bank, extending
from the north limit of the Park as first established, to Queens-
ton; thus including the wild pocket in the hill which holds the
Whirlpool; the wooded demesne known as Foster's Flats, skirt-
ing one of the wildest rapids in the river; and seven miles of the
most picturesque but least known parts of the Niagara gorge.

114 NIAGABA FALLS,

An electric railroad runs along the bank via the upper
part of the Victoria Park, from Chippewa to Queenston, stopping
at all points of interest.

A TOUR IN VICTOKIA PARK.

In a general sense, everything is free on the Canadian side.
The few charges that are made are just and reasonable. No one
who remembers the reign of extortion, now happily past, can
possibly grumble at the cost of seeing Niagara to-day.

The tourist who comes by rail on the Canadian side, may
leave the train at the Grand Trunk station at Niagara Falls (Ont.)
station; from which, unless he is a vigorous pedestrian, he will
take tram-car to a point near the Park entrance, or a carriage to
and through the Park. If he arrives by Michigan Central, he
can be set down at the "Niagara Falls '' station, near the Clifton
House. A few minutes walk will bring him to the Park entrance.
If he cross from the American side by the upper Suspension
Bridge (toll), he turns to the left, past a licensed photographer's,
and soon is at

THE PARK ENTRANCE,

with a five-mile tour ahead of him. If physical habit permits,
we recommend that this tour be made on foot. The drive, how-
ever, is very pleasant. A few steps inside the rustic turnstile,
one can pause on the very brink of the cliff and enjoy an unob-
structed view of both Falls. If the conditions of sun and wind
are favorable, rainbows will add to the beauty of the scene.
From the edge of the bank, the visitor looks down on the steep
descent which winds down to the Ferry Landing. This is a his-
toric old road, and has been described by writers for the past
seventy-five years. From the landing the steamer 31aM of the
Mist plies across the river and up to the Horseshoe Fall. The
landing and approach are a part of the Victoria Park, and under
Government control, but the ferries are private concerns. It was
down this road July 24, 1883, that Capt. Matthew Webb took his
last walk on earth.

Proceeding, the visitor passes on his right the superintendent's
ofBce, a small brick structure, and comes to "Ramblers' Rest,"

NIAGABA FALLS. 115

a fine lookout on the brink of the cliff. To the right, nearly-
opposite this point, under the hill, are some small ponds which
add to the diversity of the grounds. "Inspiration Point" is
about one-fifth of a mile farther along; the view here is one of
the best to be had. Beyond this, toward the Fall, are a restau-
rant, waiting-room, and picnic grounds, which the public may
use without charge, under reasonable restrictions.

A few steps beyond, in front of the Table Rock House, take
time for a careful outlook. Here Table Rock once extended over
the river. (The data of its fall will be found on another page.)

Here is the most historic place for going "under the Falls."
Old-time visitors, who descended by perilous ladders or fatigue-
ing stairways, knew not the ease of the hydraulic lift by which
the visitor of to-day is lightly dropped to the foot-path below. A
spiral stair near by is still occasionally used. There is a charge
of twenty-five cents for going down here, or fifty cents if an oil-
cloth suit, obtained in Table Rock House, is worn. If one
doesn't care whether he gets wet or not, the oil-cloths are super-
fluous, but if he is choice of his clothes, or is liable to take cold
from a drenching, the oil-cloth rig would better be donned.

At the bottom of the elevator the guides lead the way along a
path under the overhanging rock, and, for a shoit distance, under
the edge of the Horseshoe Fall.

Look up; you will get an idea of height, weight, volume, and
awful power, such as can nowhere else be had . From the point
where the path ends a tunnel has been made through the rock, by
which the visitor can advance one hundred and fifty feet farther
behind the Fall, and look out from the more distant end at the
back side of the great sheet of falling water, with occasional
glimpses of the grand curve of the Horseshoe and the cliffs
of Goat Island beyond. A Scotch mist is dryness itself com-
pared to the state of things which the spray usually keeps up
here.

Returning, notice, just before getting into the elevator, the re-
mains of Table Rock at the river's edge below. The great
crevice, which separates it into two huge fragments, came some
time after the rock fell. Light but secure bridges make several
interesting points down here easy of access.

116^ NIAGABA FALLS.

Accorrling to old time writers and pictures, this path under
Table Rock ledge was formerly infested with rattlesnakes, as
were many other points in the gorge; but it has been many a year
since a rattler was seen there. The early travelers, too — they
were famous for discovering wonderful things — have recorded
that they found their advance behind the Fall made very
difficult, or even impossible, by a mysterious force which they
concluded was compressed air. One traveler tells how, after advanc-
ing as far as he could, he took up a stone and threw it with all his
might into the cavernous space behind the falling water, where-
upon, he says, it all at once stopped in its course, and fell sud-
denly, as if it had struck an invisible wall. He attributes the
phenomenon to the highly compressed condition of the air behind
the Fall. It is an experiment which every visitor may try for him-
self. People blessed with strong imaginations will get most
wonderful results.

AMONG THE ISLANDS.

From Table Rock ledge the carriage-road and the foot-path —
name. I " Rainbow Ramble," because on sunny afternoons you are
sure to see plenty of rainbows on the rising spray — lead alike to
the bridge to Cedar Island, a long narrow island well overgrown
with cedars. At the north end is a toll-gate. The rates are ten
cents for pedestrians, twenty-five and fifty cents respectively for
one and two-horse vehicles. These tolls, which are levied for
the maintenance of bridges, etc., and the fee at the Table Rock
elevator, are the only charges the visitor is called upon to
pay while exploring the Victoria Park. In the narrow channel
between Cedar Island and the main shore are two small islands,
the larger one named Willow Island. From the upper end of
Cedar Island, another bridge conducts back to the mainland.
Before proceeding farther a few points should be noted. Opposite
Cedar Island, on the bank which forms the western bound of the
Park, are an interesting group of buildings, including a Roman
Catholic church, monastery, and the Convent of the Lady of
Loretto, regarding which interesting institution a few notes are
given farther on. Falls View station, on the Michigan Central
Railroad, is on the same height, about one thousand feet farther

(117)

118^ JSriAGAEA FALLS,

south. All trains stop here long enough to give passengers a good
general survey of the grand scene. The station platform is one
hundred feet above the river. On Cedar Island there was formerly
a wooden tower and observatory, but when the Government
acquired the property it was taken down. Many springs of good
water occur in the steep hill-sides.

The principal entrance to the Park, opposite the Clifton
House, is from the old road now known as Central Ferry Street.
Other entrances, each guarded by gates and stiles, are, in order
from the most northerly, by the Jolly Cut, the Murray Street
Ravine, and at the southern end of the Park, by the Prospect
Drive, which is reached by the old Portage Road running from
the Falls to Chippewa. Near Falls View station are two reservoirs
of the Niagara Falls (Ont.) water-works. The stone pump-house
of this system stands near the river's edge in the Park.

After regaining the mainland, above Cedar Island, the way
lies along the river bank. To the right is an ample recreation
ground, on the hill-side of which is a walk called "Botanist's
Ramble." Just above is the gardener's residence. This is the
best point to see the "White Horse Rapids," as the opposite cas-
cades are called. The river descends here fifty-five feet in three-
quarters of a mile. Sumach Island is passed on the right. A
weir and old race-way is seen. This is the site of one of the first
grist-mills in Upper Canada (now Ontario). Clark's Hill, the fine
residence seat of a former owner, is on the right.

We now cross, by a fine steel suspension bridge, erected in
1879, to the Dufferin Islands. They are four, the smallest inde-
pendently named Weed Island. The rapid arm of the river
which cuts them off from the steep hill-side is called the Elbow.
Numerous bridges connect the three largest islands; and River-
side Ramble, Lovers' Walk, Lovers' Retreat, and any number
of "Bowers" seem to consecrate this secluded nook to lovers
and the newly married. The group is well wooded, espe-
cially with cedar. Near Lovers' Retreat, on the uppermost islet,
notice the curious growth of gnarled and prostrate cedar trees
among the rocks. From the largest island another suspension
bridge leads to the mainland at Dufi;erin Gate, through which
one may pass and climb some steps to a summer-house on the

Niagara Falls. 119

table-land above. Prospect Drive runs along the shore for a
quarter of a mile above the line of breakers, and makes a loop at
the extreme southern limit of the Park, The water rushes down
into the " Elbow " at a reported rate of thirty miles an hour.

Near Dufferin Gate is a house which for many years covered
the Burning Spring. A stream of natural gas burst from the
rocks here, and was known even to the Indians. Afterward it
was confined in a well, and as it bubbled up through the Avater
was ignited for the delectation of visitors. For many years it has
been worked as a great card; but a few years ago it stopped flow-
ing, presumably because the gas-vein was tapped by wells near
Chippewa; so that now there is no Burning Spring to see.

The conscienceless hackmen, however, will still offer to show
the famous Burning Spring. If the visitor tells them to go ahead
and show it, they will take him to a point outside the Reservation
where a natural-gas pipe (the region between Lake Erie, the
Welland Canal, and the Niagara River abounds in natural gas) is
made to do duty as a " spring,"' and the stream is gravely ignited
at twenty-five cents a show. There are two or three of these
" springs" in the vicinity, outside the Victoria Park; the propri-
etors of the gas-pipes presumably pa}'' a commission to hackmen
for catching visitors.

It is one of the few petty little abuses of confidence which yet
survive at Niagara Falls. They have grown beautifully less of
late years. Government control on both sides of the river has
done much to protect the public.

In both Parks there is an efficient police service.

On the return from the Park, stop at the large Museum Building
and inspect the fine exhibit of minerals of Ontario. The collec-
tion was made by the Government for the Cincinnati Exhibition of
1887. There is no charge. The view from the cupola is a fine one.

There were two hundred and fifty-two thousand three hun-
dred and seventy-nine visitors to Victoria Park in 1889. Of this
number twenty-two and four-tenths per cent, came on Sunday; sev-
enty-one per cent, were from the United States, eleven per cent,
from Great Britain, and only ten per cent, from Canada. The
maintenance of the Park in 1889 cost nineteen thousand and thirty
dollars and eighty-eight cents.

120 NIAGABA FALLS,

THE LORETTINE CONVENT.

A most conspicuous object on the bluff above the Horseshoe
Fall, Canada side, is the Lorettine Convent of Our Lady of Peace.
The present structure is but one wing of the proposed building;
from its grounds and windows an unsurpassed view of the Falls
and river is had. The Loretto Order originated in Bavaria,
among the loyal British exiles who had taken refuge there in the
last struggle of the Stuart. The name is taken from the Lady-
chapel of Loretto. The Order came to America from Dalkey
Abbey in Ireland, in 1845. The mother house, known as Our
Lady of Loretto, is in Toronto. The convent of Our Lady of
Peace, overlooking Niagara, was established about 1860. There
are several other Lorettine convents in Canada, but only one, it is
believed, in the United States. That is in Illinois. The work of
the Lorettine nuns is chiefly educational ; that is to say, this great
building that makes a black silhouette on every Niagara sunset
sky, is a Catholic boarding-school for young ladies, and most
excellent is its reputation. To the devout it should be an object
of especial interest. Pope Pius IX. granted the privileges of pil-
grimage to this convent. The Sunday that the chapel here was
dedicated, hundreds of pilgrims, after hearing mass in the city
of Toronto, proceeded by steamer and railway to the shrine
above Niagara. " When they came back," says the Rev. X. D.
Macleod ill his "History of the Devotion to the Blessed Virgin
Mary in North America," "when they came back, at least upon
the steamer, they chanted, with the sublime, perpetual voice of
the cataract for basso, the Vespers of the Blessed Virgin. After
which all knelt, with their faces towards Toronto, in adoration
of the Blessed Sacrament, thanking the Redeemer there present,
for their preservation from all casualties during that, the first pil-
grimage to Our Lady of Peace,"

The tourist will perhaps feel an added interest in the great cat-
aract, when he learns that it has been consecrated, by Bishop
Lynch, in 1861, " to the Blessed Virgin of Peace."

How many of America's grand scenic passages have been thus
hallowed ?

NIAGABA FALLS. 121

BELOW THE BRIDGE, CANADA SIDE.

The Niagara Falls Park and River Railway extends from
Chippewa to Queenston. The route is 13i miles long. It fol-
lows the contour of the cliffs and gives an ever- varying view of
the attractive scenery of the Goi'ge, Whirlpool, and Rapids.
From the Falls to the Whirlpool, three miles, little of the river or
gorge can be seen from the highway, except at the

WHIKLPOOL RAPIDS ELEVATOR,

where a comfortable descent to the water's edge ma}^ be made,
the charge being fifty cents. The scene here is most interesting.
The river is but four hundred feet wide, and of unknown depth.
Note the heaped- up appearance of the water. Captain Webb was
last seen alive in these rapids.

There are two elevators on the American side of these Whirl-
pool Rapids. One side of the river gives as effective a view as the
other. From these points one gets a new idea of the height of the
bridges.

THE WHIRLPOOL,

Thi'ee miles below the Falls, is now included in the ''Niagara
Falls Queen Victoria Park" — i. e., on the Canadian side. The
Commissioners have projects for making it accessible which may
be carried out by the time this Guide is in the hands of the public.
For many years the Whirlpool elevator, Canada side, was owned
and operated by Leander Colt, who built stairs, observatories,
etc., and made his grounds attractive. In 1890 a small land-slide
carried away a part of the elevator-way, stairs, etc., and the prop-
erty passing into the hands of the Government, was not restored
for the use of tourists.

The Whirlpool is a circular basin in the hill, into which the
river rushes from the south, and out of which it escapes to the
northeast. The gorge at the outlet is so narrow that good
throwers can put a stone across it; it has been repeatedly done,
but not — to our knowledge — by any lady. The distance is about
four hundred and fifteen feet. The cliffs are three hundred and

fifty feet high.
8

122-

NIAGABA FALLS.

Viewed from above, oq either side, llie Whirlpool does not
appear to be a rough or turbulent expanse of water; and a fre-
quent exclamation is, "Where is the Whirlpool?" the visitor
expecting to see a great current rushing round and round, with a
terrible funnel-like hole in the middle, into which everything is
hopelessly sucked. There seems to be a popular idea that a
whirlpool is very much like a whirlwind or waterspout, except
that it is in the water instead of in the air.

A Quiet Spot.

Ko idea could be further astray. The waters of the Whirl-
pool are highest in the middle; actually heaped up, as they
emerge from the narrow gorge above. They rush straight across
the basin to the opposite shore, where there is a parting of cur-
rents. One great eddy sweeps ba ck in a long ellipse, following
the contour of the west side of the pool; another current turns

KIAGABA FALLS. 123

in the opposite direction, and is itself parted, a portion of its
waters escaping at once down the outlet toward Lake Ontario,
and a portion turning back and forming a great eddy on the
opposite side of the main inrushing current from that first named.
Then, too, the waters that skirt the American shore turn for tlie
most part into the outlet without being detained in the basin of
the Whirlpool at all. This splitting of the current, and confusion
of the' back currents and under-currents, keeps the expanse of the
pool constantly changing, but with certain tolerably constant
features as here described. There may be a dozen little whirl-
pools and eddies at a time, any one of them liable to engulf and
drown a swimmer, or swamp a boat. Yet fortunate currents
might carry even a feeble swimmer (assuming that he had escaped
the Rapids above) through the Whirlpool without harm. It often
happens that logs, etc., borne near the American side, are swept
around the bend into the outlet, and not carried into the Whirl-
pool at all.

The athletic tourist who can get to the water's edge of the
Whirlpool, Canada side, has sights to see not surpassed any-
where on the river. (Proposed improvements will soon make it
easy of access for all.) He is surprised to find the waves much
larger than he thought when on the bank above. Following
down-stream, around the bend of the Whirlpool, he comes to a
rocky run, over which a pretty stream falls. It is called Swiss
Glen. The margin of the Whirlpool may be followed quite
around to the outlet, and there are comparatively quiet spots
where young men sometimes bathe, but always at foolish risk.

THE WHIRLPOOL, AMERICAN SIDE.

On the American side, the Whirlpool is approached through
the grounds of De Veaux College, an Episcopal school for boys
with a military regime. The income from the stairs which lead
to the bottom of the cliff is a source of revenue to the institution.
The uniform charge at the elevators, etc., is fifty cents. The
waiting-rooms of all of them are well stocked bazaars. The
views from the top of the bank, American side, are comprehen-
sive and grand. January 7, 1886, the Niagara Falls & Whirl-

(124)

NIAGABA FALLS. 125

pool Railway was incorporated. It has since been consolidated
with the Niagara Falls & Lewistou Railroad, and the latter's
name. The project was to build a narrow-gauge line on the
American side, down in the gorge as near to the water's edge as
possible, from a point near the foot of the inclined railway in
Prospect Park to the Whirlpool, the terminus being the spot now
reached by the foot-path from the De Yeaux College grounds.
Difficulties in securing right of way have kept the plan from
being carried out; but it is not unlikely that the road will some-
time be built, and even extended through the gorge to Lewiston.

THE UlSTKNOAYN OTAGARA.

Between the Whirlpool and the towns • of Queenston and
Lewiston, the river rushes through a deep gorge. On the Canada
side, a mile below tlie Whirlpool, are Foster's Flats, where the
precipitous walls trend back from the water's edge, making room
for a few heavily-wooded acres of lowland. The river is very
turbulent here, and the Foster's Flats Rapids is a wild stretch of
half a mile. It is practically a continuous rapid to Queenston,
where the gorge ends. From this point to Lake Ontario, seven
miles, the river is placid, navigable for large lake steamers, and is
a famous fishing-ground. This deep gorge is one of the wildest
and most romantic passages in American scenery ; but to all except
a few surveyors, scientists, and fishermen, it is practically an
unknown part of Niagara.

THE MAID OF THE MIST.

No visit to Niagara is complete that does not include a trip on
the Maid of the Mif<t. This stanch little craft made her first
trip June 13, 1885, and has run regularly and without mishap
during the season ever since. She is seventeen feet long, sixteen
feet beam, seven feet hold. The hull is of white oak, and contains
three tight compartments. She is owned in Canada, and registers
from St. Catharines, the nearest Canadian port.

She is the third Maid of the Mist which has plied as a ferry on
the Niagara below the Falls, The first was built in 1846, but was

126^ NIAGABA FALLS,

cranky, and in 1854 was replaced by the second, on which, in the
spring of 1861, Joel Robinson made his perilous trip to Lewiston.
!No accident has ever occurred at this ferry, either to steamers or
row-boats. The task of rowing a boat across the boiling Niagara
looks to the novice like a perilous one; but the experienced river-
men, by taking advantage of currents, and by knowing the signs
of the river, do not find it very heavy navigation.

The Maid of the Mist usually crosses the river from the Cana-
dian to the American shore, then runs up-stream past the Ameri-
can Fall, and as close to the Horseshoe as is safe, returning to the
Canadian dock. The visitor, who has been disappointed in the
height of the Falls, as seen from the shores above, will get all over
that feeling as he looks up at them from the steamer's deck. The
very windows of heaven seem to be open, and the floods to be
descending from the skies.

AMONG THE BAZAARS.

Whoever has traveled much, especially among American
resorts, has observed that there are certain stock "curiosities"
offered for sale at the bazaars of these favored places. The knick-
knack shops of Niagara Falls and St. Augustine, Fla., /or
instance, have a strong " family resemblance," except that ono is
rather given over to baby alligators, and the other to Indian bead-
work. The bazaars at Niagara are really very interesting places,
though most of the commodities offered for sale, the countless and
excellent photographs excepted, have little, if any, relation to the
Falls.

The museums here, however, have long been celebrated. Mr.
Thomas Barnett, who died in 1890, established, in 1828, a museum
on the Canada side of the river, near Table Rock. It was the first
museum of any kind in Canada, and became known far and wide.
At that time the present site of Queen Victoria Park was a cedar
swamp, and the Falls could not be seen from the museum. For
some years Mr. Barnett showed great energy in enlarging his
collection. He sent his son to Egypt and secured one of the finest
collections of mummies ever brought to America. Many coun.
tries were searched for strange things. As the stock increased, the

NIAGABA FALLS.

127

large stone building in the park was built, and handsome grounds
were laid out. The late Saul Davis was another pioneer
museum man. He was for a time Mr. Barnett's active rival, and
finally bought the Barnett collection and combined it with his
own. When the Victoria Park was established, this celebrated
museum was moved to Niagara Falls, N. Y., where it now
occupies a suitable building opposite the State Park.

There are also a number of private collections here. Nearly

every visitor tries
to take away some
memento; but such
vandalism is to be
deprecated.

WINTER
SCENEEY.

The Falls are al-
ways grand, but
their winter scen-
ery varies exceed-
ingly. Sometimes
it is dirty and
dingy, the stream
running dark and
muddy, the cliffs
dripping mud and
^^'"^^^ the islands being

bare and dreary. Not even heavy snow makes fine scenery
on the tree-clad islands and shores. Sometimes the winter scen-
ery is wonderfully beautiful. It is the frozen spray from the
Falls that works the transformation. The wind and the mist are
conjurors there. Sometimes the conditions are such that the
spray scarcely touches the trees for days at a time. Then comes
a shift of wind, the spray is poured over the evergreen cedars or
the bare branches and twigs of other trees, and a single night
completes the grand transformation, clothing every object in a

128

JSTIAGAEA FALLS.

shining armor of ice, which may last for weeks if tlie tempera-
ture remains low.

Another and more substantial type of the scenery at the Falls
consists of the great icicles, and stalagmites, and pillars of ice,
which form \mder the cliffs. Under Table Rock ledge, and in
the Cave of the AVinds, these beautiful formations are usually to
be found in winter.

Niagara Frozen.

The so-called ice-bridge is the greatest winter wonder at
Kiagara. The name is a little misleading. No span of ice, arching
across the Falls or the river, ever forms. The ice-bridge is merely

NIAGABA FALLS, 129

the accumulation of broken ice below the Falls. It usually
forms late in the winter, and often does not form at all. The nec-
essary conditions preceding it are that there should be heavy ice
in Lake Erie, and that it should break up and go over the cataract
in large quantities. It then becomes impacted in the narrow
gorge, its lower edge being above the beginning at the Whirlpool
Rapids, and its upper edge sometimes extending as far up-stream
as the American Fall. It is thus a great ice-floe, with upheaved
hillocks and great fissures, testifying to the constant pressure. It
is often forty feet thick. As soon as considered safe, paths are
made from shore to shore, and sometimes shanty restaurants and
shelters are built in mid-stream. The river is carefully watched
for signs of a break-up, for once the ice goes, it goes with a rush.
Woe be to any unhappy mortal carried down with it !

The ice-mountain forms the foot of the American Fall. It is
a great cap of frozen spray which is built up on the rocks,
sometimes one hundred feet high. There have been winters
when the ice-moiintain and ice-bridge were formed together,
and afforded ideal facilities for coasting; but such seasons are few
and far between.

HINTS AT NIAGARA'S HISTOEY.

THE NAME "NIAGARA."

The word "Niagara" is a household word all over the world.
It is applied only to the locality, and is to-day the synonym for the
ideal water-fall. It is of Indian origin, for the Indians once
inhabited this country, and much of the nomenclature of
Western New York is traceable directly to them. Niagara has
been said by Schoolcraft, and many who have taken him as
authority, to mean, "The Thunderer of Waters." The late
Orasmus H. Marshall, a high authority in Indian languages and
Niagara history, denies this. " The Mohawks," he says, " affirm
it to mean neck, in allusion to its connecting the two lakes." It is
the same in the language of the Mohawks and the Neuter Nation.
The Hurons dwelt north of this section, and the Iroquois south
of it. So the Niagaras, dwelling between the two, and at peace

130 NIAGABA FALLS,

with each, came to be called the Neuter Nation, in whose wig-
wams the warriors of these two tribes met in peace.

Niagara is said to be one of forty known ways of spelling the
name — Ongniaarhra, Nicariagas, Ongiara, Onyakara, being the
more common forms met with in old traditions.

The Neutral Nation was also called Attouanderonks by other
tribes — that is, a people speaking a little different language; for
their dialect was different from that of any other tribe, though
partially understood by all. Both these names, as well as Niag-
aras and Kah-Kaws, were used so as to distinguish their location.

The Neuter Nation was destroyed or absorbed by the more
powerful Iroquois about 1650, permanent neutrality being an
untenable ground. The Senecas then occupied their lands.

Almost a hundred years after this, a small remnant gathered
together and went back to the famous home of their fathers, but
they lived there only a few years and, dying off, left no descend-
ants to perpetuate their tribe.

FIRST KNOWLEDGE OF THE RIVER.

The River Niagara was well known to the Jesuits as early
as 1640, though none of them had visited it at that time.
Lalemant speaks of it as the ' ' famous river of this (the Neutral)
nation," The following translation, from his " Relation " of 1641,
shows that both Lake Ontario and Lake Erie had already taken
their present names:

* ' This river (the Niagara) is the same by which our great lake
of the Hurons, or Fresh Sea, discharges itself, in the first place,
into Lake Erie {le lac d'Erie), or the Lake of the Cat Nation.
Then it enters the territories of the Neutral Nation, and takes
the name of Onguiaahra (Niagara), until it discharges itself into
Ontario, or the Lake of St. Louis; whence at last issues the river
which passes before Quebec, and is called the St. Lawrence."
He makes no allusion to the cataract, which is first mentioned as
follows by Ragueneau, in the "Relation" of 1648:

"Nearly south of this same Neutral Nation there is a great
lake about two hundred leagues in circuit, named Erie (Erie),
which is formed by the discharge of the Fresh Sea, and which

(1-31)

132 NIAGABA FALLS.

precipitates itself by a cataract of frightful height into a third
lake, named Ontario, which we call Lake St. Louis."

We do not know when white men first visited Niagara, though
after the discovery of the St. Lawrence, in 1534, any of the
traders and adventurers who sought this region may have done
so at any time.

Jacques Cartier, in his description of his second voyage, 1536,
speaks of a cataract, but he never saw it. Samuel Champlain,
in a book of his voyages, published in 1613, indicates a water-fall
on a map.

In 1648, the Jesuit Father Ragueneau, in a letter, speaks of
the cataract, and locates it very correctly ; and on Sanson's Map
of Canada, 1657, it is indicated.

Du Creux, in 1660, in a work, " Historiae Canadensis," indi-
cated Niagara on a map, but he did not describe the Falls, and it
is doubted if he ever saw them.

The first description that we have is that of Father Hennepin,
publislied in 1678, of which we here quote a part:

CHAP. VII.

A description of the Fall of the River Niagara, which is to he seen betwixt
the Lake Ontario and that of Erie.

Betwixt the Lake Ontario and Erie, there is a vast and prodigious
Cadence of Water, which falls down after a surprizing and astonishing man-
ner, insomuch that the Universe does not afford its Parallel. ' Tis true,
Italy axid. Suedeland hoast of some such Things; but we may well say they
are but sorry patterns, when compared to this of which we now speak. At
the foot of this horrible Precipice, we meet with the River Niagara, which is
not above a quarter of a League broad, but is wonderfully deep in some
places. It is so rapid above this Descent, that it violently hurries down the
wild Beasts while endeavoring to pass it to feed on the other side, they not
being able to withstand the force of its Current, which enevitably casts them
headlong above Six hundred foot high.

This wonderful Downfall is compounded of two cross-streams of Water,
and two Falls, with an isle sloping along the middle of it. The Waters
which fall from this horrible Precipice, do foam and boyl after the most
hideous manner imaginable, making an outrageous Noise, more terrible
than that of Thunder; for when the Wind blows out of the South, their dis-
mal roaring may be heard more than Fifteen Leagues off.

The River Niagara having thrown it self down this incredible Preci-
pice, continues its impetuous course for two Leagues together, to the great
Rock above mentioned, with an inexpressible rapidity: But, having passed

NIAGABA FALLS. 133

that, its impetuosity relents, gliding along more gently for other two
Leagues, till it arrives at the Lake Ontario or Frontenac.

Any Bark or greater Vessel may pass from the Fort to the foot of this
huge Rock above mentioned. This Rock lies to the Westward, and is cut off
from the Land by the River Niagara, about two Leagues further down than
the great Fall, for which two Leagues the People are obliged to transport
their goods overland; but the way is very good; and the Trees are very few,
chiefly Firrs and Oaks.

From the great Fall unto this Rock, which is to the West of the River,
the two brinks of it are so prodigious high, that it would make one tremble to
look steadily upon the Water, rolling along with a rapidity not to be imag-
in'd. Were it not for this vast Cataract, which interupts Navigation, they
might sail with Barks, or greater Vessels, more than Four hundred and
fifty Leagues, crossing the Lake of Hurons, and reaching even to the farther
end of the Lake Illinois, which two Lakes we may easily say are little Seas
of fresh water.

The rock above mentioned was a huge boulder or mass that
was found on the river bank near the foot of the mountain, and
just above the village of Queenston. When the old suspension
bridge was built at this point, the debris thrown down by work-
men blasting for foundations partially covered the rock, but a
portion of it is still visible near the western end of the ruined
bridge.

Hennepin was the priest and historian who accompanied the
French explorer Robert Cavelier, commonly called La Salle.
This leader ascended the St. Lawrence, built a trading-post at
Fort Niagara, visited the Falls, and built in Cayuga Creek, on
the American side, five miles above the Falls, the Griffifi, sixty
tons burden. August 7, 1679, she set sail, the first white man's
vessel that ever floated on the Upper Lakes. She crossed lakes
Erie and Huron, and safely reached Green Bay, Lake Michigan,
where La Salle, Hennepin, and others left her, and made their way
to the present site of Chicago, and thence to the Illinois and Mis-
sissippi. The Oriffin, loaded with furs, undertook to sail back,
but was never heard of, and was undoubtedly lost in the northern
part of Lake Michigan.

GEOGKAPIIICAL.

THE NIAGARA KIVER.

The Niagara River, one of the shortest but one of the most
famous rivers in the world, is a part of the system by which the
10

134 NIAGABA FALLS.

waters of the Great Lakes are carried to the ocean. Its entire
length is only thirty-six miles — twenty-two miles from Lake Erie
to the Falls, and fourteen miles from the Falls to Lake Ontario.

The Niagara River is merely one link in the chain which con-
ducts the waters of Lake Superior to the Atlantic. It is called
the Niagara River between the two lakes, Erie and Ontario.
When it leaves Lake Ontario it is the River St. Lawrence, which
is seven hundred miles long, and falls into the Gulf of St. Law-
rence.

It is part of the boundary-line between the United States and
Canada, so decreed by the treaty of Ghent, in 1815. By that
treaty, the boundary-line runs through the center of the Great
Lakes, and through the deepest channels of the rivers. By this
means, over three-fourths of the islands in the river, including all
the important ones but one, belong to the United States. Of these
islands there are in all thirty-six, of which Grand Island is the
largest, and Goat Island the most famous.

In its course the river falls three hundred and thirty-six feet,
as follows: From Lake Erie to the Rapids above the Falls,
fifteen feet; in the Rapids, fifty-five feet; at the Falls, one hun-
dred and sixty-one feet ; from the Falls to Lewiston, ninety-eight
feet; from Lewiston to Lake Ontario, seven feet.

Its sources are: Lake Superior, the largest body of fresh water
in the world, three hundred and fifty-five miles long, one hun-
dred and sixty miles wide, one thousand and thirty feet deep;
Lake Huron, two hundred and sixty miles long, one hundred
miles wide, one thousand feet deep; Lake Michigan, three hun-
dred and twenty miles long, seventy miles wide, one thousand
feet deep; Lake St. Clair, forty-nine miles long, fifteen miles wide,
twenty feet deep; Lake Erie, two hundred and ninety miles long,
sixty-five miles wide, eighty-four feet deep.

Several smaller lakes, with one hundred rivers, large and
small, pour their waters this way, draining a country of more
than one hundred and fifty thousand square miles. This is the
drainage of almost half a continent, and whose remotest springs
are two thousand miles from the ocean.

With such a supply, it is not surprising that the volume of the
Niagara River is never noticeably diminished.

(135)

136 Niagara falls.

Through the mouth of the St. Lawrence more fresh water
pours into the ocean than through the mouth, probably, of any
one river in the world.

The river, over the American Fall, falls one hundred and sixty-
seven feet, and over the Canadian one hundred and fifty-eight,
the difference being caused by the gi eater accumulation of rock
at the base of the former.

The Niagara is never frozen over, but it accumulates more ice
than any other river in the world.

From records kept, a rise in height of water of one foot at top
of Falls will, by actual measurement, raise it seventeen and one-
half feet below.

On the surface belotv the Falls, the current, when the water is
smooth, runs on an average about six or seven miles per hour.
Sailors say about thirty or forty feet deep it runs at least ten or
twelve knots. And this is the reason, we think, why saw-logs
and other bodies plunging over the Horseshoe Fall are not seen
until they come up at the Whirlpool, a distance of three miles.

There is a tradition that there is a periodical rise and fall in
the level of the lakes, embracing a period of fourteen years. In
1843, 1857, and 1871, the Niagara River was very low.

March 29, 1843, a heavy gale from the west caused the highest
water ever known. The water rose six feet perpendicularly on
the Rapids.

mCIDENTS OF THE PAST.

The historical associations that are connected with this section
of the country, and with this famous river, are numberless.
From the earliest days of the red men's rule, through the long
French and English wars to the closing of our own War of 1812,
its borders have been the scene of many bloody conflicts and of
countless deeds of strategy and heroism.

Aline of forts, at first only palisades, but gradually strength-
ened into permanent forts, extended all along the river. Forts
Erie, Niagara, and Mississaga on the Canadian, and Forts Porter,
Du Portage, Schlosser, Little Niagara, Grey, and Niagara on the
American side, are but links in the great chain of defeases erected
at various times along the frontier.
5

Niagara Falls. 137

Frequent contests were carried on between the French and
Englisli, each one assisted by faithful Indian allies, and the results
were both bloody and destructive, as neither party, even were it
so disposed, could always repress the Indian nature, as shown in
the determination to burn and scalp after a battle.

This contest between French and English in America was car-
ried on for over a hundred years, and finally ceased in 1763, when
the French rule in North America was wiped out. It virtually
ceased in 1759, after the capture of Quebec by General Wolfe.

After the Declaration of Independence, this section saw a few
years of comparative quiet, and the settlement of Western New
York prospered. The defense of this boundary was also consid-
ered, though the next war saw the British in possession, at one
time, of the entire American bank of the Niagara.

The declaration of the War of 1812 threw this section into a
ferment. Buffalo and Fort Niagara were the American strong-
holds. Fort Erie and Queenston Heights those of the British.

August 11, 1812, General Yan Rensselaer, of the New York mili-
tia, established headquarters at Lewiston. October 15th he crossed
the river and captured Queenston Heights. Soon after General
Brock arrived and attacked him. Brock was killed in the engage-
ment. Another regnforcement of British soon arrived. As Yan
Rensselaer's volunteers on the American side proved to be cowards,
and refused to cross to aid their comrades, these fellows were
totally defeated in sight of their comrades. This was the chief
event of the year 1812 on the frontier.

Late in the year 1813 General McClure crossed from Fort
Niagara and destroyed the Canadian town of Newark; but think-
ing Fort Niagara secure, he returned to Buffalo. Colonel Murray,
of the English, surprised Fort Niagara and captured it, December
19, 1813. Then the people were terror-stricken, and fled for their
lives. The Indians, the old allies of the English, were drawn to
their standard, and scoured the country. The British captured
and burned Lewiston, Niagara Falls, and the Tuscarora village,
between December 20th and 29tli, and Buffalo, December 30th.

Early in 1814 General Brown took command, and with him
were Scott, Gaines, Porter, Miller, and others. Then the campaign
was pushed with zeal and energy. Then followed victories—
10

138. NIAGABA FALLS.

Chippewa, Lundy's Lane, the famous sortie from Fort Erie, and
the total defeat of the British; and soon after these, peace, result-
ing for the Americans, according to Lord Beaconsfleld's fapious
aphorism, in ' * Peace with honor. "

GOAT ISLAND.

Originally, the first man who had any right to name " Goat"
Island called it very properly "Iris Island," and it ought to be
known under that appellative. It owes its present singular name
to a local fact. In 1779 a Mr. John Stedman, having cleared a
portion of the upper end of the island, placed some goats (notable
among them an aged male goat) upon it. During the ensuing
winter it was impossible to reach the island, and the animals were
killed by the cold. The people named the island, after the repre-
sentative of the flock, " Goat Island," a cognomen which has ever
since adhered to it.

These islands were originally owned by the State of New York.
At one time it was proposed to establish a prison, and at another
time an arsenal, at Goat Island.

In 1814 General and Judge Porter bought of Samuel Sherwood
a paper called a Float, given by the State as pay for military
services rendered, authorizing the bearer to locate two hundred
acres of land on any of the unsold or unappropriated land belong-
ing to the State. Part of this they located on Goat and other
adjacent islands, immediately above and adjoining the Great
Falls, their patent bearing date 1816, and signed by Daniel D.
Tompkins as Governor, and Martin Van Buren as Attorney-
General of New York. An early record says the island once
contained two hundred and fifty acres of land; at present the
group contains some sixty-five acres. The area of Goat Island is
sixty-one and a half acres; its circumference about one mile. A
strip about ten rods wide and eighty rods long has been washed
away on the south side since the first road was made, in 1818.
Long before it was bridged, it was visited from time to time by
persons to whom its attractions were of more importance than
the peril of reaching it. The late Judge Porter, who visited it in
1805, found names cut in the bark of a beech near the Horseshoe
Falls, with the subjoined dates of 1771, 1772, and 1779.

' JSIAGAEA FALLS, 139

THE ISLAND BRIDGES.

The first bridge to this group was built in 1817, and reached to
the head of Goat Island. The next winter the high water and the
ice washed it away.

In 1818 another bridge was built, but lower down, on the site
of the present one. This was repaired frequently till 1856, when
the present iron bridge was constructed. The foundation consists
of oak cribs filled with stones and covered with plates of iron.
The superstructure is of iron, and consists of four arches of ninety
feet span each, supported between these piers. The whole length
of the bridge is three hundred and sixty feet, and its width is
twenty-seven feet. Of this a double carriage-way occupies sixteen
and a half feet, and two foot-ways, one either side of the carriage-
way, five and a quarter feet each. Visitors often ask how the first
bridge was built over the Ilapids.

A suitable pier and platform was built at the water's edge; long
timbers were projected over this abutment the distance they
wished to sink the next pier, heavily loaded on the end next to
the shore with stones, to prevent their moving. Legs were framed
through the ends of the projecting timbers, resting upon the rocky
bottom, thus forming a temporary pier, around which a more
substantial one was built. These timbers were then securely
fastened to this pier, cross-boards were spiked on, and the first
section was done. The plan was repeated for each arch.

TABLE ROCK.

One of the most famous points about Niagara in the old times,
now gone forever, was Table Rock. This was on the Canada
side, about ten rods below the Falls, and was simply a huge ledge
of rock overhanging the precipice.

Table Rock was originally very large, but its form and dimen-
sions were changed by frequent and violent disruptions. In July,
1818, a mass broke off one hundred and sixty feet in length, and
from thirty to forty feet in width. December 9, 1828, three
immense portions, reaching under the Horseshoe Fall, fell "with
a shock like an earthquake." In the summer of 1829 another
large mass fell off, and June 26, 1850, a piece two hundred feet

140- Niagara falls,

long and sixty feet deep fell, the last piece of the Table. Another
large mass fell in 1886. The latest considerable fall was on Jan-
uary 12, 1887.

It was on Table Rock that Mrs. Sigourney wrote her spirited
"Apostrophe to Niagara." Standing right at the edge of the
water, just where it pours over, a gran4er or more imposing sight
can not be found on the continent.

PHENOMENA OF THE EALLS.

On March 29, 1848, a strong east wind drove the waler back
into Lake Erie. The heavy ice was wedged in at the mouth of
the river. This dammed the water up, and soon the river was
nearly dry. The rocks under the Rapids were bare, and people
walked and drove over them. The -Falls, of course, shrank to a
mere nothing. The next morning the ice was forced out and
Niagara resumed its sway, but the sights and the experiences of
that day were novel ones.

The average depth of the river from Lake Erie to the Falls is
about twenty feet. In some places it is over two miles wide. At
the narrowest point, near the Whirlpool, the current is above
forty miles per hour, and at the widest part about four miles per
hour.

Between the Falls and the Whirlpool the depth varies from
seventy-five to two hundred feet. At the Whirlpool Rapids it is
estimated at two hundred and fifty feet; in the Whirlpool at four
hundred. But it should be recalled that this is the depth of the
water alone. The mass of stone, gravel, shale, etc., which in one
way and another has been carried into the channel, lies below the
water and above the original bottom of the gorge, which, there-
fore, is probably as deep again. Various estimates have been
given ot the amount of water going over the Falls. A point
three hundred feet wide below the Falls being selected, the depth
estimated, and the velocity of the current known, it is estimatsd
that one billion five hundred million cubic feet passed that point
every minute.

Another estimate says that one hundred million tons pass
through the Whirlpool every hour.

Rapids below the Falls.
(141)

142 " NIAGABA FALLS.

Judge DeYeaux estimated that five billion barrels go over
every twenty-four hours; two hundred and eleven million eight
hundred and thirty-six thousand eight hundred and fifty-three
barrels an hour; three million five hundred and thirty-six thou-
sand six hundred and fourteen barrels a minute; fifty-eight
thousand three hundred and forty-three barrels each second.

The Falls are in latitude 43° 6' north; longitude 2° 5' west
from Washington, or 79° 5' west from Greenwich.

The Horseshoe Fall has an aggregate length of two thousand
three hundred and fifty feet; the American Fall, about eight
hundred feet.

Hennepin speaks of three falls, the third formed by the huge
masses of rock situated where Table Rock stood. These rocks
were of great extent, and the water being obliged to flow around
them formed the third Fall, and this Fall fell inward and at right
angles to the present Fall. Seventy years later, 1751, this third
Fall had disappeared, though still told about by the Indians.
The reason was because the big rock had been crumbled away,
and the channel of the big or center Fall had been cut deeper,
thus draining this higher channel.

The spray rises up in the heavens like smoke, and can be
seen for a long way, especially when the rays of the sun are upon
it. Judge Porter said he had thus seen the spray at a distance of
one hundred miles.

If the wind is up the river, the view of the Falls is not
obstructed, but if it is blowing down the river, it is difficult to
get any view of the Falls.

In 1840 Gull Island, south of Goat Island, contained two acres
of land. The storm of 1847, and the continued encroachments of
the river, cut it all away, there being hardly a trace of it now.

The view of the Falls at sunrise and sunset is particularly
grand.

The moonlight views of Niagara are indescribably weird and
delicate, and it will repay the traveler to journey far to see them.
Solar bows, formed by reflection of the sun and spray, can be
seen on any bright day when the visitor is between the sun and
the spray. Lunar bows, seen at night, are formed in a similar
way, by lunar beams. The spectator must be similarly placed.

NIAGARA FALLS. 143

The roar of the Falls can be heard a long way if the wind
blows toward the listener. It has been heard at Toronto, forty-
four miles, and at Buffalo, twenty -two miles. When the wind
blows from the listener the roar is hardly heard, even when one is
within a few feet of the cataract. It is not ordinarily noticeable
in the village of Niagara Falls. On the Canada side near the
Horseshoe, the roar is not to be shut out. Especially at night
do the roar and spray sound like a tremendous raiu-6torm.
Many a stranger, hearing it in the morning as he wakens, is
amazed on looking out to find a smiling sky.

VILLAGE OF NIAGARA FALLS.

The village of Niagara Falls was incorporated July 6, 1848,
under the General Act of New York passed in 1847. It has: a
population of five thousand four hundred and ninety-one, by the
census of 1890. Suspension Bridge village has four thousand
two hundred and eighty-six. On both sides of the river it is esti-
mated that the average annual number of visitors to Niagara
is four hundred thousand . It is located in what is known as the
Mile Strip, a strip of land one mile in width along the whole
length of Niagara River, reserved by the State in its early sales,
and sold by the State about 1800. According to the State divis-
ions, there were about one hundred lots in the strip, lot No. 42
being located at the Falls.

After the freedom of the United States had been recognized,
a dispute arose as to who should own that part of Western New
York lying west of Seneca Lake. Commissioners finally gave
New York the jurisdiction and Massachusetts the ownership.
It would seem that the land was first sold to Phelps & Gorham,
and as they partially failed to fulfill their agreement, Robert Morris
acquired it, and afterward sold the western part to the Holland
Land Company, though the Mile Strip was not included in any
of the above sales. The part purchased by the company is known
as the Holland Land Purchase.

The village was originally named Grand Niagara, then Man-
chester, and finally Niagara Falls.

Numberless accidents have happened at Niagara — suicides,
murders, drowning, over the Falls, etc. One or two accidents are

144

NiAaABA FALLS.

specially mentioned in this work, but it would be useless to give
a full list of even known accidents. The number of those who
have taken the fatal plunge at night, unseen save by the " Eye
that sleepeth not," can never be ascertained. Some years there
will be no known accident; again, there have been twelve in a
single season.

Below the Falls

There is really little danger except to foolhardy and reckless
persons, and willful suicides. A fair amount of caution would
have prevented nine out of every ten of all the accidents that
have occurred, and this is more true to-day than ever before.

A famous accident was that of July 19, 1853. Early in the
morning a man was seen on a rock in the American Kapids, mid-
way between the Falls and Goat Island. He proved to be a Mr.
Avery, w^ho in crossing the river had been drawn into the Rapids
and had caught there. People flocked from all over the country
to see him. Boats and ropes were lowered. Several boats were

5

NIAGABA FALLS, 145

lost, and two sunk near him. Food was sent to him in tin cans.
A raft was made and lowered, and reached him safely. He got
on it and seized the ropes. It was floated over to Chapin Island,
but caught there. A boat was lowered and touched the raft.
Avery stepped forward to get into it. The raft tipped, and he
fell into the river and was carried over the Falls after an eighteen-
hour struggle for life.

Of late years accidents are fewer, but suicides were never so
frequent as during the decade from 1880 to 1890; probably
because the country has become very populous and the Falls are
easier of access than ever before. It is likely, too, that many a
wrong-doer sets out to leave the States for Canada, or vice versa,
intending to flee across the boundary at Niagara; but while there,
either overcome by remorse or tempted by the unusual facilities
for self-destruction, he ends his errors with a jump.

NIAGAEA'S SCIENTIFIC ASPECTS.

GEO;,OGICAL.

Within the memory of men now living, the Falls have receded
one hundred feet. This naturally prompts the question. Where did.
the retrocession begin? Geologists tell us, and their answer is ac-
cepted as conclusive, at the mountain near Lewiston. The whole
waters of the lakes there foamed over this dam, which was sev-
eral miles in width. This accounts for the shells, etc., which
have been found on Goat Island, it having been submerged; also
for the shells found on the land along the river up stream — shells
which enabled Lyell, and Hall, and others, to prove that the Niag-
ara once flowed through a shallow valley.

That the stream cut the gorge is, geologically, equally decided.
There is no better place to study geology and the strata of rocks
than this ^orge that Niagara has cut. Mr. Allen, in his guide-
book, says:

Not only has the Niagara River cut the gorge; it has carried away the
chips of its own workshop. The slate being probablj' crumbled, is easily
carried away. But at the base of the Fall we find large boulders, and by
some means or other they were removed down the river.

The ice which fills the gorge in winter, and \\hich grapples with the
boulders, has been regarded as the transporting agent. Probably it is so to

146 JSflAGAEA FALLS.

some extent. Put erosion acts without ceasing on the abutting points of the
boulders, thus withdrawing their support and urging them down the river.
Solution also does its portion of the work. That solid matter is carried
down is proved by the difference of depth between Niagara River and Lake
Ontario, where the river enters. The depth f aUs from seventy-two feet to
twenty-five feet, in consequence of the deposition of soUd matter caused by
the diminished motion of the river. Near the mouth of the gorge at Queens-
ton, the depth, according to the Canadian Admiralty chart, is one hundred
and eighty feet, while within the gorge it is one hundred and thirty-two feet.
We may add a word regarding the proximate future of Niagara. At the rate
of excavation assigned to it by Sir Charles.Lyell— namely, a foot a year— five
thousand years or so will carry the Horseshoe Fall far higher than Goat Island.
As the gorge recedes it will drain, as it has hitherto done, the banks right
and left of it, thus leaving nearly a level terrace between Goat Island and
the edge of the gorge. Higher up it will totally drain the American branch
of the river, the channel of which will in due time, become cultivatable
land. The American Pall wiU then be transformed into a dry precipice,
forming a simple continuation of the cUffy boundary of the Niagara. At
the place occupied by the Fall at this moment we shall have the gorge
inclosing a right angle, a second Whirlpool being the consequence of this.
To those who visit Niagara a few millenniums hence, I leave the verifica-
tion of this prediction.

Various authorities put the recession at from one inch to one
foot a year. "When doctors disagree," etc.

There is some gradual wearing away of the soft limestone,
varying with the volume of water, but every spring the frost and
elements accomplish a year's work by breaking off some large
pieces, tons in weight. Thus the deeper water, swifter current,
and greater weight and force of the Horseshoe Fall cut the rock
away faster than the shallower waters of the American Fall do.
Allen says:

All the phenomena point distinctly to the center of the river as the place
of the greatest mechanical energy, and from the center the vigor of the Fall
gradually dies away toward the sides. The horseshoe form, the concavity
facing downward, is an obvious and necessary consequence of this action.
Right along the middle of the river, the apex of the curve pushes its way
backward, cutting along the center a deep and comparatively narrow
groove, and draining the sides as it passes them.

Prof. James Hall, in his " Geology of the Fourth District of
New York State," suggests the possibility of there having been
three separate falls, one above the other, when the Falls first began
to recede. The face of the gorge from the Falls to Lewiston and

JSriAGARA FALLS, 147

along the ridge, shows us exactly through what kind of rocks the
gorge was cut. Professor Hall gives these as the strata of the
rocks:

1 . Niagara limestone.

2. Soft shale.

3. Compact gray limestone.

4. Shale.

5. Sandstone, constituting, with numbers six, seven, and eight,
the Medina group,

6. Shale and marl.

7. Quartz sandstone.

8. Red sandstone.

The deep cut through the solid rock marks the course which
the Falls must have taken in their backward movement. It is a
Avonderful excavation — a chasm dug out by the sheer force of
water. Not less astonishing has been the removal of debris. The
rock has been thoroughly pulverized, and has been swept out of
the river to be distributed in Lake Ontario.

Once it was thought that in the wearing-away process the Falls
would ultimately reach Lake Erie, and there degenerate into a
series of rapids. But the theory has happily been set aside by one
which retains to us the cataract, though the shadow of its present
self, and much reduced in size. The latest idea is that the Falls
will recede two miles and then remain stationary, their height at
that point being eighty feet instead of one hundred and sixty-four,
as at present. The supposition is supported by an argument which
seems reasonable. The present site is a limestone formation some
eighty or ninety feet thick, with a shaly foundation. As the shale
is washed away the limestone breaks off and the Falls take a step
backward. But the end of the shaly deposit will be reached
two miles from the present Falls, and then the rushing water will
have more than it can do to wash away the solid precipice over
which it will be projected.

In 1841 and 1842 Sir Charles Lyell estimated the gradual
recession of Niagara Falls, by the undermining of its brink, at
the rate of about one foot per annum. When the Commission
having in charge the establishment of the State Reservation — or
free park — at the Falls, came to investigate the subject, Lyell's

148 NIAGABA FALLS,

estimates were found to be erroneous. A map based on surveys
of the Falls made in 1883, by Mr. Thomas Evershed, for the New
York State Surveyor, shows that in the forty-one years ending in
1883 the annual rate of maximum recession has been six and one-
sixth feet. For the eight years ending with 1883 the rate is
given as sixteen and one-half feet, so that of late years the rate of
recession seems to have been higher than formerly.

No discussion before the session for 1886 of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science aroused more general
interest than did that relating to the geological history of the
Niagara River. Unusual attention was paid to the subject by the
geologists present, among whom were some of the best authorities
in America on geological questions.' Referring to the synoptical
reports of the proceedings of the Association, we find several
authorities reported in substance as follows:

Prof. W. M. Davis, of Harvard University, thinks the Falls
were formerly at Lewiston (seven miles below where they now
are), but " of no particular height" until after the subsidence of
Lake Ontario.

Prof. T. B. Comstock, of the University of Illinois, believes
there was no Fall at Lewiston at any time.

Prof. R. S. Woodward, of Washington, finds from observa-
tions recorded from 1843 to 1886 that the minimum rate of retro-
cession is two and four-tenths feet per year. At this rate it takes
the Falls two thousand two hundred years to recede one mile.
Professor Woodward is also reported as estimating five feet per
year as the rate of retrocession.

Prof. G. K. Gilbert, of Washington, thinks that seven thousand
years for the retrocession from Lewiston is a maximum estimate.

Doctor Pohlman, of Buffalo, reduces the time of retrocession
to three thousand years.

Now such inconsistency as exists in these conclusions is due to
the fact that they are drawn from varying data. INloreover, a
radical difference in theory exists as to the course of the prehis-
toric outlet of Lake Erie.

Hitherto the two great authorities on the retrocession of Niag-
ara Falls have been Sir Charles Lyell and Prof. James Hall. As
we have seen, the former held that it was approximately correct

NIAGABA FALLS. 149

to allow about a foot a year for the retrocession. From the vari-
able nature of the strata over which the river flows, the circum-
stances that affect the rapidity of the erosion differ all along its
course. Eminent geologist that he was, Lyell had not the advan-
tage of a series of actual observations. Previous to the careful
trigonometric survey made in 1842 under the direction of Pro-
fessor Hall, for the New York State Geological Survey, no marks
or monuments had been fixed. Professor Hall showed that after
a farther recession of about two miles, the Falls will encounter a
thick stratum which may permanently resist erosion, with their
height reduced to about eighty feet.

There is no disagreement or uncertainty about the future of
Niagara. With known conditions science is beautifully accurate.
Hence, while the discussion of 1886, summarized in the foregoing,
did not give the world an absolute dictum regarding the past of
Niagara, it did bear fruit in illustrating the importance of scien-
tific observation and record.

According to the United States Geological Survey reports, the
average recession along the whole contour of the Horseshoe Fall
has been, since 1842, about two and four-tenths feet per year. In
the center of the channel, where the bulk of the water passes, the
average yearly recession has been about twice that amount. At
the point where the acute angle is formed the recession from 1842
to 1875 was over one hundred feet, and from 1875 to 1886 more
than two hundred feet. The recession of the American Fall since
1842 has been slight.

The heights of the Falls above the level of the water in the
river was determined by the engineers of the United States Geo-
logical Survey in 1886, as follows:

Height of the American Fall — 167 feet.

Height of the Horseshoe Fall 158 feet.

These heights agree closely with those determined in 1842,
Hereafter surveys will be made at more frequent and regular
intervals.

The amount of water passing over Niagara Falls varies with the

height of the river. Prof. W. D. Gunning estimates the average

amount at eighteen million cubic feet per minute. Allowing

sixty-two and one-half pounds to the cubic foot, this would give

11

lob NIAGABA FALLS.

a total of five hundred and sixty-two thousand five hundred tons
per minute, or twenty-five million three hundred and twelve thou-
sand five hundred tons in forty-five minutes, of which somewhat
more than two-thirds passes over the Horseshoe Falls, Other
estimates place the total amount passing over both Falls as high
as one hundred million tons per hour. In comparison the flood
at Johnstown in 1889 was a gill.

THE FLORA OF THE FALLS.

Much less has been written of the flora of the Falls and vicinity
than of its geology; yet to the botanist the region is one of
uncommon interest. Not only is the number of species repre-
sented on the banks and islands, and in the waters of the Niagara,
unusually large, but a considerable number of rare or uncom-
mon plants occur there. Prof. J. Hayes Panton, of the Ontario
Agricultural College, reports four hundred and fifty-eight species
noted by him in a partial survey of the flora of Victoria Park
alone. His report on this work supplements the Commissioners'
Report for 1889. The Hon. David F. Day, of Buffalo, enumer-
ates nine hundred and nine species (flowering and fern-like only)
observed by him in the Niagara region. [See Fourth Annual Report
of State Reservation Commissioners, for 1887.] Both Professor
Panton and Mr. Day name numerous species which are of rare
occurrence in Western New York and Ontario. Perhaps the
most interesting is Kalm's St. John's-wort {Hyj)ericum Kalmi-
anum, L.), which bears the name of the famous Swedish botanist
who visited the Falls in 1750. It is probable that Kalm first
found this plant (which is not known to occur east or south of
Niagara), and the blue lobelia which is named for him {L. Kalmii,
L.), in the vicinity of the Falls. Among the many botanists who
visit Niagara, there may be some eager to find Kalm's St. John's-
wort. It grows on Goat Island (Day), Cedar Island (Panton),
and near the foot of the old Ferry road, Canada side. The only
sassafras trees known in the neighborhood of the Falls occur in
the Whirlpool woods. The deep gorge between the Whirlpool
and Lewiston shelters several of the less common ferns; among
others, the walking fern {Camptosorusrhyzophallus, Link.), Pellceu
6

NlAGABA FALLS. 151

atropurpurea, Link., and Phegopteris Dryopteris, F^e. For other
rarities, the botanist is referred to Mr. Day's list in the Report
above designated. Of one aspect of the Niagara flora, Mr. Day
writes:

Goat Island is very rich in the number of its species.
Probably no other tract of land in its vicinity, so restricted in
area, can be found exhibiting so large a number. Its vefnal
beauty is attributable, not merely to its variety of plants, con-
spicuous in flower, but also to the extraordinary abundance in
which they are produced. Yet it seems likely that there was a
time, probably not long ago, when other species of plants, of
great beauty, were common upon the island, but which are not
now to be found there. It is hardly possible that several orchi-
daceous plants and our three native lilies did not once embellish
its woods and grassy places. Within a little while the harebell
has gone, and the Grass of Parnassus is fast going. This is
undoubtedly due to careless flower-gatherers who have plucked

and pulled without stint or reason The suggestion

may be made, that pains be taken to reestablish upon the island
the attractive plants which it has lost.

CLIMATOLOGIOAL.

Niagara Falls is one of the best places in the world to study
the formation of clouds. Especially on still mornings, the rising
cloud of spray from the caldron of the Horseshoe may be traced
into the upper strata of the air, where it is seen to take on the
appearance of ordinary clouds.

The vicinity of the Falls is exceptionally healthful, and the
death-rate in neighboring towns is much below the normal.

On the lower part of the river, from Lewiston to Lake Ontario,
the spring is usually at least two weeks earlier than it is above
the Falls and in the neighborhood of Buffalo.

PISCATOEIAL.

There is good fishing in the Niagara, and some of its sections
are famous fishing-grounds. From Buft'alo to the head of Grand
Island, the river is constantly fished in season. Besides lake fish,
such as white-fish and herring, good catches are made of bass, pike
and pickerel, muskallonge, and now and then a sturgeon. There

152 Niagara Falls,

are fish in the river between the Falls and the Whirlpool Rapids.
The favorite grounds, however, are from Lewiston to the mouth
of the river.

In 1887 there was organized, under New York State laws, a
"Society for the Protection of Niagara River." It had in view
the protection of the fish and the enforcement of the fish and game
laws, and also concerned itself with the problems of sewage-
draining into the Niagara, the dumping of dredged matter in the
channel, and other sources of pollution. Buffalo's sewage,
which runs into the Niagara, is a constant theme of complaint at
Tonawanda.

HARNESSING NIAGARA.

THE GREAT TUNNEL.

No visit to Niagara is complete without some inspection of the
works finished and in process of construction, by which the vast
water-power of Niagara is now utilized without injury to the
Falls or encroachment on the State Reservation.

The utilization of Niagara River power has been sought since
1825, when Augustus and Peter B. Porter issued a glowing pros-
pectus of the manufacturing possibilities at Niagara Falls, and
inviting eastern capitalists and manufacturers to locate there.

No considerable use of the power was made until 1846, when
a hydraulic canal was constructed. It is three-quarters of a mile
long, running through Niagara Falls (N. Y.) village from near
Port Day, on the American shore, above the Falls, to the high
bank of the gorge below the Falls. Charles B. Gaskill built the
Cataract Mill, the first one established on the Hydraulic Canal, in
1874. Now the bank of the river near the termination of the canal
is crowded with manufacturing establishments. Among them,
the famous Oneida Community has one of the largest silver-
plating works and steel chain manufactories in the United States.
Here, too, besides numerous flouring-mills and other large fac-
tories, are works of the Brush Electric Light & Power Co., which
furnishes light for Niagara Falls and Suspension Bridge villages,
American side, and which sends its wires across the river to
Niagara Falls, Ontario, and makes a circuit of light for several

NiAGABA Falls, 153

miles on both sides of the river. The cliif beneath this group of
factories is pierced with a dozen or more canal outlets, flumes,
and tail-races, from each of which, at varying height, usually falls
a snowy cascade. This group of artificial cataracts is an interest-
ing and picturesque sight.

It was the late Thomas Evershed, of Rochester, who, while
Division Engineer of New York State Canals, proposed to utilize
the power of Niagara River, practically on the lines which have
since been adopted. The Niagara River Hydraulic Tunnel,
Power & Sewer Company was incorporated March 31, 1886.
July 1, 1886, Mr. Evershed made an elaborate report, estimating
the cost of the proposed new tunnel at two million two
hundred and fifty thousand dollars. His idea, in brief, was
to construct a subterranean tunnel, or tail-race, extending
from a point on the river above the Falls to a point near the
surface of the water below the Falls. It was to be connected with
the river by means of short surface canals, wheel-pits, and cross-
tunnels. The power thus secured, ready for turning wheels and
shafts, was estimated to be equal to the combined water-power of
Lawrence, Lowell, Holyoke, Turner's Falls, Manchester, Bellows
Falls, Lewiston, Cohoes, Oswego, Paterson, Augusta (Ga.),
Minneapolis, Rochester, and Lockport.

The project stood still for a time, as is often the case with
great enterprises. On July 19, 1887, a number of the business
men and speculators of Buffalo (but not, as usually stated , the
Buffalo Business Men's Association) offered a prize of one hun-
dred thousand dollars "to the inventors of the world, for the best
appliance for utilizing the water-power of Niagara River. " The
amount named was secured — on paper — before the close of the year,
and a large number of inventors, a few of them scientists, many
of them cranks, came forward with all sorts of schemes and
machines. Nobody ever met the requirements, and the prize was
never awarded.

In 1890, however, the great work was taken hold of in earnest.
On April 1st of that year, a three million five hundred thousand
dollar contract was signed between the Niagara Falls Power Com-
pany and the Cataract Construction Company. The latter broke
ground October 4, 1890, under contract to have one section of the
11

154 NiAOABA Falls.

work ready for use by January 1, 1892. There was a public cele-
bration, and the first earth was thrown up with a silver shovel.
The Power Company owns lands for two miles along the shore of
the Niagara adjacent to the Hydraulic Tunnel, which have been
laid out for lots, streets, mill-races, wharves, and railway sidings,
for the purpose of forming a town composed wholly of mills,
factories, and workshops. The company has also purchased an
adjoining tract of one thousand acres, which has been laid out in
streets and lots for homes for workmen employed.

The Niagara Falls Power Company has, from its charter and
the amendatory acts, all the powers and grants necessary for tak-
ing water from the Niagara Kiver, passing the water through the
race-ways and tunnels of the company, and furnishing the power
derived from the energy of the water to mills and factories. A
subterranean tunnel has been constructed, of horseshoe shape,
having a capacity equal to a circle twenty-five feet in diameter,
extending through the solid rock to the upper river at a point
about one mile above the Falls. From this point the tunnel con-
tinues parallel with the shore of the river one and one-half miles,
at an average depth of one hundred and sixty feet below ground,
and about four hundred feet distant from the navigable waters of
the river, with which it is connected by means of surface conduits
or canals, through which the water from the river enters and is
drawn through the shafts and wheel-pits into the great tunnel
below, which forms an immense tail-race for all of the mills, fac-
tories, and workshops.

The water falls upon turbine wheels which were put in by
the company in a number of the pits, and the power developed
thereby is brought to the surface, from which point it
is delivered to the mills or factories at that point, or
transmitted, by cable, pneumatic tube, or electricity, to adjacent
lands, as the customers may desire. Buffalo is already
profiting by this electrical transmission. It is fortunate
for the manufacturing interests of the country that this great
enterprise is in the hands of men who have abundant capital to
develop it to the fullest extent. Among the stockholders of the
Construction Company are: J. Pierpont Morgan, George S. Bow-
doin, and C. H. Coster, of the banking-house of Drexel, Morgan

NIAGABA FALLS. 155

& Co.; Charles Lanier, Edward D, Adams, and Edward Winslow,
of the firm of Winslow, Lanier & Co. ; Brown Brothers & Co. ;
William K. Vanderbilt, D. O. Mills, H. McK. Twombly, Morris
K. Jesup, August Belmont & Co., Isaac N. Seligman, Kuhn,
Loeb & Co., A. J. Forbes-Leith, Charles F. Clark, Edward A.
Wickes, Francis Lynde Stetson, F. W. Whitridge, all of New
York City; George M. Porter, of Buffalo, and others. Edward
D. Adams is president of the company. The engineers are
Albert H. Porter, resident engineer; John Bogart (New York
State Engineer) and Coleman Sellers, consulting engineers, and
Clemens Herschel, hydraulic engineer.

Fears were expressed before the completion of the works
that the tunnel might draw so large a quantity of water from
the river as to mar the beauty of Niagara. But the drain upon
the main river is not worth considering. The diversion of water
by the old Hydraulic Canal, to the amount of six thousand horse
power, has not made an appreciable diminution of the torrent
that falls over the mighty precipice. The divergence of water to
the extent of many hundred thousand horse power would not be
noted, as there are fluctuations in the amount of water, caused by
the wind setting the water of the lake back or driving more water
into the river, amounting to far more than any possible utilization
of the water for power can produce.

The Lake Survey Board's measurements of the flow of Niagara
River give an average of two hundred and sixty-five thousand
cubic feet per second. Should the Cataract Construction Com-
pany develop one hundred and twenty thousand horse power, with
a head of one hundred and forty feet, they will require about ten
thousand two hundred cubic feet per second, using wheels of
seventy-five per cent efficiency; so that less than four-hundredths
per cent of the average flow will be taken, while if the head used
be greater, the diversion of water from the Falls will be less than
four-hundredths per cent of the average flow.

THE INTERNATIONAL NIAGARA COMMISSION.

An interesting outgrowth of this tunnel project was the forma-
tion, in Europe, of the International Niagara Commission. When

156^ NIAGABA FALLS.

Mr. Edward D. Adams, president of the Cataract Construction
Company, visited Europe in tlie spring of 1890, lie found that the
most advanced thought on the utilization and transmission of
power had not yet found expression in books. In consultation
with eminent scientists, practical machinists, and electricians, he
perfected the International Niagara Commission. The president
of this Commission, Sir William Thomson, familiar with the
Falls of Niagara through frequent visits, was probably the first
person to suggest the distribution electrically of the water power
at Niagara.

France was represented by Prof. F. Mascart, member of the
National Institute, Director of the Central Meteorological Bureau,
etc. Another member was M. Theodore Turrettine, the engineer
of the St. Gothard Tunnel, a resident of Geneva, Switzerland, and
one of the world's greatest engineers. Prof. Coleman Sellers, of
the Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, N. J., and Prof .
W. C. Unwin, F. R. S. , Professor of Engineering at the Central
Institution of the City and Guilds of London, were also associated
in this Commission. Thomas A. Edison made a special report on
electrical transmission of power to be taken from this tunnel.
Never before was such an array of talent devoted to the utiliza-
tion of a water power as that which harnessed the Niagara.

A NIAGARA SHIP OANTAL.

The project of a ship canal around Niagara Falls is an old
one, and has taken many shapes. Perhaps the most recent is
that contained in a bill introduced in the Fifty-first Congress
(April 14, 1890) by Mr. Payne. It contemplates "a navigable
canal for the passage of merchant ships and ships of war," from
Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, to be built in Niagara County,
N. Y , along one of several routes which have been surveyed. It
was to be built by the Federal Government, and maintained
as a national waterway, as the Wellaud Canal is on the Canadian
side. Mr. Payne's bill provided for the expenditure of one mil-
lion dollars on this work. It is unnecessary here to rehearse the
commercial and military arguments for such a public work.

NlACiABA FALLS. 157

Congress has never yet taken hold of the project with enthusi-
asm, but there is no predicting what may be brought about by
altered conditions.

A PROPOSED BOULEVARD.

A favorite project is the construction of a wide macadam
boulevard from Buffalo to the Falls. Various bills have been
introduced in the New York State Legislature having this end in
view, and the undertaking may yet be carried through.

ENGINEERING ACHIEVEMENTS.

THE BRIDGES.

The bridges at Niagara are not the least of its wonders. The
latest triumph of engineering skill is the

STEEL AECHED BRIDGE

of the Grand Trunk Railway, built on the site of the old Railroad
Suspension Bridge completed in 1853 and then considered the
engineering achievement of the age. The railroad traflQc has not
been interfered with for a single day during the erecting of the
Steel Arched Bridge and the destruction of the old suspension
bridge, which took place at the same time. The building of this
structure is said to be the greatest engineering feat of the kind
in America, and was done by the Pennsylvania Steel Co., at the
works in Steelton, Pa., in 1897. The arch has a span of 550 feet,
between the end piers, and a truss span, at each end 115 feet
long, to connect the arch with the bluff. The total length of the
bridge and its approaches is 1,100 feet, and the center of the arch
is 226 feet above the water.

THE UPPER SUSPENSION BRIDGE.

Next in order came the new suspension bridge, below the
American Fall. It is a carriage and foot bridge, built by two
companies, one Canadian and one American, in 1872. The first
ropes were carried over on the ice-bridge. It was the longest
suspended bridge-span in the world, the distance from the shore
end of one tower to the shore end of the other being one
thousand two hundred and sixty-eight feet, or about a quarter
of a mile.

158' NIAGABA FALLS.

The deflection of the cables at center is ninety-one feet in
summer, and in winter eighty-eight feet, making a rise and fall
of the bridge from changes of temperature of three feet. The
length of cables between anchorages was one thousand eight
hundred and twenty-eight feet. Fine views were got from the
tops of the towers. Height of the bridge above water, one
hundred and ninety feet. It is capable of carrying thirteen
times as much as can by any ordinary circumstances be placed
upon it. Its towers were one hundred feet high. Charges:
Each person, each way, 10 cents.

In the great storm of January 10, 1889, this bridge was blown
down; but work was immediately begun to replace it, and on
May 7th a new structure of iron, hung on steel cables, was opened
to the public. During this storm the river reached the highest
mark touched in many years, and many thousand tons of rock
were carried away from the center of the Horseshoe Fall.

This bridge has been superseded by a

KEW STEEL AECH BRIDGE

on the same site, which was finished in 1898. The following are
the dimensions:

Length of Arch Span 840 feet

Total Length of Bridge 1,240 "

Width of Bridge 46 "

Height above Water 191 "

The bridge floor has double trolley tracks, two eight-foot
driveways, and two four-foot three-inch sidewalks. Total weight
of bridge, 4, 250, 000 pounds.

THE CANTILEVER BRIDGE,

Built for the Michigan. Central Railway, is a most beautiful,
graceful, and stately structure, serving as an enduring monument
of engineering skill and marvelous rapidity of construction.

The principle of the cantilever plan is that of a trussed beam
supported at or near its center, with the arms extending each
way, and one end anchored or counterweighted to provide for
unequal loading, as is shown to some extent by the accompanying
cut. In practice it is comparatively new, this being the first
bridge completed upon this principle. The Firth of Forth Bridge

NIAGABA FALLS.

159

in Scotland, with a clear span of one thousand six hundred feet,
is now built upon this plan, and also in this country the Fraser
River Bridge, three hundred and fifteen feet clear span, on the
Canadian Pacific.

If any person is desirous of having a practical demonstration
of the operation, let him take an old-fashioned pair of steelyards,
suspend from the long arm of the lever a light weight of, say, ten

Sectional View of Cantilever Bridge, during Process of Construction.

pounds, and from the other half a ton of beef; the latter rep-
resents the shore anchorage of the bridge, and illustrates the
power w^hich prevents depression at the end of the long arm.

The total weight of the iron and steel entering into the com-
position of the massive structure is three thousand tons. The
bridge is of sufficient width for a double track, and is built to

160" NIAGABA FALLS.

carry upon each track at the same time a freight train of the
heaviest kind, extending the entire length of the bridge, headed
by two " consolidation " engines, and to bear a side pressure of
thirty pounds per square foot, which pressure is produced by a
wind having a velocity of seventy-five miles per hour. Under
these loads the structure is strained to only one-fifth of its ultimate
strength. The total length of the bridge proper is nine hundred and
nine feet and nine inches, divided into two cantilevers of three hun-
dred and ninety-five feet on the Canadian side, and three hundred
and ninety -five feet on the American side, supported on steel towers
arising from the water's edge. A fixed span of one hundred and
nineteen feet and nine inches is suspended from and connects the
river arms of cantilevers. The clear span across the river is four
hundred and ninety-four feet and nine inches, being the longest
double-track truss span ever yet built.

The bridge spans a chasm of eight hundred and fifty-nine feet
from bluff to bluff. The excavations were carried down until solid
rock was reached, when blocks of "Beton Coignet," twenty feet
wide, forty-five feet long, and ten feet thick, were put in. These
form one single mass, capable of withstanding a pressure almost
equal to that of the best Quincy granite, and so distribute the
load of one thousand six hundred tons that comes upon each pair
of steel columns as to produce a pressure of but twenty-five pounds
per square inch on the natural formation — much less than a fash-
ionable young lady brings upon the heel of her French boot every
time she steps. Upon these Beton blocks, four in number, was
built masonry of the most substantial character, carried up fifty
feet above the surface of the water. On these foundations the
steel towers rest, rising one hundred and thirty feet and five inches
above the masonry, and upon these are set steel superstructures.
The total weight resting on each of the towers, under a maxi-
mum strain, is, in round numbers, three thousand two hundred
tons. The total uplifting force that can be exerted on each of the
shore anchorages of the cantilever is three hundred and forty tons,
and the weight of each shore arm is eight hundred tons. It will
be seen that every single piece of material is five times as strong
as it actually need be, so that the bridge can be strained to
only one-fifth of its ultimate strength. Each ingot of steel was

View of the Falls from Prospect Point.
(161)

162 NIAGABA FALLS.

submitted to a chemical analysis, and the samples to a mechanical
test. The standard of excellence adopted was more severe and
exacting than usual, and all steel that failed to meet the require-
ments was rejected. The contractors therefore say : ' ' This bridge
in material and workmanship has no equal."

After its completion, December 20, 1884, the cantilever bridge
was subjected to the rigorous practical test of twenty engines and
twenty-four heavily loaded gravel cars, so arranged as to bring the
severest possible strain upon the central truss span and the river
ends of the cantilever arms. The slight deflection of six inches was
only temporary, and the great triumph of this wonderful work
was assured and proven. There is, probably, not a safer or
stronger bridge in the world to-day.

A survey has been made for a bridge to cross the Niagara
gorge at the Whirlpool outlet. A new bridge is necessary to give
the Canadian Pacific its desired entry to Buffalo, and the Whirl-
pool route will not unlikely be chosen, though various lines have
been surveyed.

The Grand Trunk Railway Company proposes to span the
river with a great stone arch, which will be built, according to
current report, just north of and near to the railway suspension
bridge. It is designed to give the Grand Trunk additional track
facilities.

OTAGARA^S FIRST BRIDGE.

Between the Heights of Lewiston and Queenston still hangs
the picturesque ruin of the first bridge across Niagara. In 1836
a charter was obtained for the construction of a " chain" bridge
at this spot, and a bank was established at Queenston for the pur-
pose of carrying out the scheme. Nothing came of it. On March
20, 1851, the Queenston and Lewiston Suspension Bridge was
opened. It was a foot and carriage bridge; the distance between
towers was one thousand and forty feet, and when built it was
the longest suspension bridge in existence. The deck of the bridge
was eight hundred and forty-nine feet long, nineteen feet wide,
and sixty-four feet above the river. Capt. E. W. Serrell, an
Englishman, was the engineer. It was destroyed by the wind.

NiAGABA Falls. 163

April 16, 1864. The rusty cables which still remain suspended
across the gorge are occasionally crossed by some daring person.

ANOTHEB BRIDGE BETWEEN FALLS AND WHIRLPOOL.

Another bridge is likely to span the gorge before long. The
River Bridge Railroad Company has been incorporated to build
a connecting line, six thousand feet long, between a point in Sus-
pension Bridge village and the river bank just below the mills
at the north end of Niagara Falls village. Here is where a
bridge will probably be built for the Canadian Pacific Railroad
and connecting lines.

COMEDY AKD TRAGEDY.

An entertaining book — a good -sized one, too — might be
made out of the adventures and misadventures which have hap-
pened at Niagara Falls. There is a great, though by no means
complete, list of disasters, running back to the days of the first
white visitors. Back of that time we encounter the inevitable
"Indian tradition." A belief existed among the Indians, it is
said, that Niagara demands a yearly sacrifice of two human
victims. It is more than likely that the Indians never had any
such belief, though it might well be warranted by the facts. It
is not only a place of resort, but the first place of last resort
for desperate and unfortunate people from all over the coun-
try. The curious visitor may find an added, if somewhat
grewsome, interest in the fact that well-nigh every access-
ible point of danger has had either its accident or suicide.
Careless people have fallen from the cliffs, insane people
have jumped from the bridges, fool-hardy people have been
drawn over the Falls through venturing too near on the stream
above. No earthly precaution on the part of the authorities,
short of personal escort, can prevent these casualties. You
can not tell when or where the next tragic affair will happen.
Perhaps, reader, the polite stranger who has ridden with you in
the Reservation van, or who chatted with you at the hotel table,
or who even now, at your side, leans over the bridge-rail to watch
the swift water, is on the point of — but we forbear; it is not well

164' JSriAGABA FALLS.

to regard those about you as suicidal suspects, unless their con-
duct is manifestly suspicious.

Keither is it well to yield to the fancy that the water has an
awful, tempting attraction. Weak-minded people occasionally
give way to these morbid notions; but anyone who can not watch
the bright waters, or stroll along the commanding cliffs, without
an inclination to tempt Fate, is not in a proper physical or mental
condition to travel, or to have commerce with his fellow-men.

Oddly enough, many people who have resolved on suicide go
to Niagara only to die by their own hand. A few years ago, a
gentleman from a distant city came to Niagara Falls. It was
mid-winter and the ice-bridge was formed. He walked out to
mid-stream and coolly shot himself with a revolver— a proceeding
which manifestly had no connection whatever with Niagara as a
place for suicide.

No one has ever passed over the Falls and lived. The bodies
of unfortunates who are carried down are usually found, from
two days to a fortnight afterward, in the river at Lewiston,
oftener than not dismembered and broken.

THE TRUE STORY OF SAM PATCH.

The story of Sam Patch has long been a Niagara classic, but it
is not often told either with satisfactory detail or accuracy. The
jumping exploits of recent years have revived interest in this
pioneer of the profession, so that a few facts regarding his extra-
ordinary career may be welcomed here.

Sam Patch was born in Rhode Island, about 1807. He was
successively a sailor, a cotton-spinner, and an athlete. When
about twenty years old he jumped from a new bridge at Pater-
son, N. J. , into the Passaic, a distance of about eighty feet. He
repeated this jump several times from the bridge and the high
cliffs, and became locally famous. He quit work in the mills and
went on a grand jumping tour. In sea-port towns he would jump
into the sea from mast-heads and yard-arms. In the autumn of
1829 he came to Niagara. He selected a spot on the foot-path
under Goat Island, near the Biddle Stair. Here he put up a lad-
der, the bottom resting on the edge of the river, the top inclining

NIAGABA FALLS. 165

over it. It was stayed by ropes to the trees on the bank. A
small platform was built at the top, ninety-seven feet above the
water, which is about fifty feet deep at that place. Patch made
two jumps from this staging, and was witnessed by big crowds.
How much he got for it is not known, but the hotel-keepers have
always been credited with promoting the scheme. From Niagara
Sam went to Rochester, and from the edge of the Upper Genesee
Falls jumped — into the next world. In a Rochester paper, for
some days before his first successful leap, there appeared the fol-
lowing advertisement :

ANOTHER LEAP.

SASI PATCH AGAINST THE WORLD.

'■^ Some things can he clone as well as others.'*''
SAM PATCH,
Having returned from jumping over Niagara Falls, has determined to con-
vince the citizens of Rochester that he is the real " Simon Pure" hy jumping
off the Falls in this village, from the rocky point in the middle of the Genesee
River into the gulph below, a distance of one himdred feet. This extraordi-
nary feat will be performed on Friday, the 6th of November next, at two
o'clock precisely, in the afternoon. Sam assures the world that there can be
" no mistalce.''' He "goes the whole hog"— and, unlike too many politicians
of the present day, he "turns no somersets'" in his progress! He goes as
straight as an arrow. He puts off the jump until after election, out of
regard to all parties. Let every man do his duty at the polls and Sam will
aftero'^ard do his at the Falls.

Subscription papers will be left at the different taverns, where gentlemen
who feel disposed to witness the spectacle will please subscribe, and pay the
money (however small) to the landlord.

^^ If Sam does not jump, the landlord will return the money to those
who gave it — so there is no mistake. Samuel Patch,

Of Paterson, N. J.

The performance was carried out with perfect success, before
nearly eight thousand spectators. On November 13, 1829, the
following announcement appeared:

Sam Patch has announced his intention to make a second
jump at the Rochester Falls on Friday (to-morrow), at two o'clock
p. M. A stage will be erected at the edge of the Fall, making the
distance which he is to jump one hundred and twenty-five feet.
Sam's bear follows suit by jumping over at three o'clock.

When Sam appeared on the platform above the Genesee chasm
that unlucky Friday, he was drunk. In a vain effort to steady
12

166 Niagara Falls.

himself, he took a stiff horn of brandy, and then plunged — fell,
rather, in a sprawling position — into the water far below. That
was the last seen of him alive. His body was found the following
spring, in March, 1830, at the mouth of the Genesee River, where
it empties into Lake Ontario, near the village of Charlotte. It is
buried in a small cemetery between Rochester and Charlotte, in
a grave unmarked by slab or shaft. Sam had intended to "crown
his career" by jumping from London Bridge, doubtless thinking
tliere would be both fame and "big money" in it. The tale is
not complete without a word for his bear. Before making his
own tipsy jump, Sam pushed the poor brute off the platform; but
Bruin, being perfectly sober, curled himself up like a ball, struck
the water with a great splash, and escaped unharmed by his
unique experience.

BLOJSTDIN AND OTHER ROPE-WALKERS.

Infinitely greater than Patch was Blondin who died in 1897,
at the advanced age of 73, and was a marvel of skill and nerve to
the last. Blondin was last in this country in 1888, when he per-
formed at Seabright, N. J., Ontario Beach, near Rochester, and
other places. He went to Niagara Falls and looked over the
ground of his famous performances. He had grown heavy, but
not clumsy. Asked if his increasing weight interfered with rope-
walking, he laughed and said: " Oh, no; I walk rope when I get
so big I can not walk on the sidewalk."

Blondin first visited Niagara in the spring of 1859, accompanied
by his business manager, Harry Calcourt. When he proposed to
stretch a rope across the river from Goat Island to the Canadian
shore, the people of the vicinity opposed him, and the newspapers
called him a fool. Blondin has lived to a good age as a respect-
able man, but on general principles (leaving Monsieur Blondin out
of the case) the unfavorable verdict would probably be sustained
by the majority of people to-day. Although there are a score of
occupations which prove more disastrous than rope-walking, the
popular idea of rope-walkers no doubt is that they take criminally
foolish chances. The rope-walkers themselves manifestly look at
it from a different standpoint.

NlAGABA FALLS. 167

It was late in June of 1859 before Blondin got his wire rope.
The Goat Island plan was abandoned, and it was stretched across
the chasm from White's old pleasure-ground. Those who saw
Blondin traveling back and forth over the rope adjusting the
guys made up their minds that he would never fall off unless
struck by a cyclone. He was nimble as a cat. His first adver-
tised walk was on Thursday, June 30, 1859. He astonished the
crowd by performing many gymnastic feats, and when in the
center of the rope lowered a cord to the old steamer Maid of the
Mist, from which he drew up a bottle and took a drink. He
continued giving performances during the season, and in 1860
changed his place of walking to a point just below the railway
suspension bridge. Never before, or since, has any attraction
drawn such crowds to Niagara — the opening of the State Reser-
vation excepted — as Blondin's rope performances at this time.
It was August 17, 1859, when he did the astonishing feat of car-
rying Harry Calcourt across the rope on his back. The world
seemed to be there. The river bank on both sides was black with
people, and vehicles and trains of cars were constantly passing.
Excursionists were brought from Milwaukee and return for ten
dollars, and intermediate points in same proportion. Blondin
should have a monument erected at the Falls by the railroads and
hotel-keepers for the amount of money he has put into their
hands.

On August 24th Blondin walked again, and crossed the rope
chained hand and foot. On his return he carried a cook-stove to
the middle of the river, made a fire, and turning French cook
made an omelette and sent it down to the deck of the steamer
Maid of the Mist to be eaten. August 30th he walked in the
evening. Thursday, September 8th, he crossed with a bushel
basket on each foot. By this time the novelty had passed off, and
his greatest feat was thought to be in carrying the man across on
his back. He made lots of money at Niagara, bought a house on
Third Street, in the American village, and lived in good style.
In the summer of 1860 he performed before the Prince of Wales,
and at the close of the season sold out, and has called London his
home most of the time since. He has a son who is not a rope-
walker, but has often ridden on his father's back across the aerial

168. NlAGABA FALLS.

cable. A daughter of Blondin married a brother of Tony Pastor,
but is now a widow.

Perhaps the most vivid account of Blondin's greatest feat at
Kiagara was written by Nicholas A. Woods, correspondent of the
London Times, who accompanied the Prince of Wales on his
American tour. The following extract from this account can not
fail to interest all'who visit Niagara. The scene of the exploit, it
will be remembered, is a few rods below (north of) the railway
suspension bridge:

His Royal Highness saw M, Blondin execute his most terrific
feat — that of crossing the Rapids on a tight rope with a man on

his back It was stretched between two of the

steepest cliffs over the Rapids, about two hundred and thirty feet
from where the waters boil and roar and plunge on in massive
waves at the rate of some twenty miles an hour. To see him
venture out on this thin cord and turn somersaults in the center,
standing on his head, or sitting down holding by his hands,
revolving backward over the rope like a Catharine- wheel, is bad
enough for nervous people; but on this Saturday, after keeping
everyone's hair on end thus for twenty minutes, he prepared to
carry a man across on his back. The mere physical exertion of
carrying anyone nearly a distance of half a mile is no slight feat,
but when that space has to be traversed on a half -tight rope higher
than the Monument from the sea of boiling rapids underneath,
where one false movement, the tremor of a single nerve, a
moment's gust of wind, or temporary faintness, would hurry both
to an instant and dreadful death, the attempt is so full of sicken-
ing terror that not many can bring themselves to witness it, and
those who do, remain cold, trembling, and silent till the dreadful
venture is safely passed. Blondin took the whole matter coolly
enough. His Royal Highness was urgent with him not to attempt
it, but he replied that there was far less real danger in the feat
than appeared to lookers-on, that he was quite used to it and felt
quite at ease, and that as he had everywhere announced his
intention of performing it before relinquishing his attempts for
the season, he felt bound to go on. He accordingly divested him-
self of his Indian chief's head-dress and bead-work coat, and put
two strong straps crosswise over his broad, muscular shoulders,
each strap fitted with a flat, wide iron hook to rest on his hips, for
in those his adventurous companion was to place his legs. Mr.
Calcourt was the man to be carried; and this person, in addition
to his own coolness and confidence in Blondin, had himself a suf-
ficient knowledge of rope-walking to enable him to stand en it
alone whenever Blondin himself wanted rest.

NiAGABA Falls, 169

The preparations were soon made. Blondin took a very
long and rather heavy balance-pole. Calcourt divested himself of
his boots, and put on a pair of ordinary slippers, the soles of
which were well chalked. Blondin then stood steadily, and Cal-
court, grasping him round the neck, gently and slowly hoisted
first one leg into the hook and then the other, and allowing his
limbs to swing as relaxed as possible, the venture commenced.
Of course, with a rope nearly half a mile long, no power could
draw it straight across such a gulf. It therefore sloped gradually
down at both sides from the edges of the cliffs on which it was
secured. This made the attempt look doubly fearful, for it
seemed impossible, as Blondin went down the steep incline of cord
with slow, cautious, trembling feet, with body carefully thrown
back to keep his balance as he almost felt his way, that he could
avoid slipping and being dashed to fragments on the rocks far
down beneath. At last, however, he passed it, though very
slowly, and in about five minutes more gained the center of the
rope and stopped, when Calcourt, gently raising his legs from the
hooks, slid down and stood upon the cord while Blondin rested.
Getting upon his back again was a terrible business. Twice Cal-
court missed raising his legs to the hooks, and Blondin oscillated
violently under the efforts made on his back. This unintentional
awkwardness, which no doubt arose from nervousness, I was
afterward informed, led to a fierce altercation between the voy-
ageurs, and Blondin swore if Calcourt was not more careful he
would leave him on the rope to get back as he best could. Awed
by this threat, Calcourt was more careful, or more fortunate, in
his third attempt, and the dreadful walk was resumed. Three
more such stoppages for rest were made. During one, when
almost in the center of the rope, there was a violent gust of wind
which fluttered Calcourt's coat-tails as if it would blow them
away, and made both men sway on the little cord till the specta-
tors were almost sick with fear and anxiety. The whole passage
occupied about a quarter of an hour. Blondin then performed
the still more dangerous task of returning along the rope on stilts
about three feet high, and this he did quickly and with apparent
ease.

BLONDrx's rVIITATORS AND SUCCESSORS.

Since Blondin's time, several people have crossed the Niagara
gorge on a tight rope, but none have approached him in daring
exploits. In 1873 Bellini performed on a rope stretched from
opposite the Ferry Landing to Prospect Park. Three times, from
the middle of the cord, he jumped into the river. He had a rub-
ber cord an inch in diameter and twelve feet long constructed,
one end being securely fastened to the rope. Holding the other
12

170 JSfiAGABA Falls.

end firmly in his descent, the tension served to hold him in an
upright position. The third time the cord broke and entangled
his feet, so that below water he was tightly bound. He sunk so
deep that he nearly suffocated. He was picked up by the boat
which was in readiness, but in an exhausted condition.

Lawrence M. Donovan was Sam Patch's greatest emulator.
Larry was a New York printer who began a jumping career by
minor feats, gradually working up to the achievement of a leap
from High Bridge, over the Harlem, to the water, a distance of
one hundred and fifteen feet. This he successfully did four
times. Then he surprised all New York one morning by jump-
ing from the Brooklyn Bridge, one hundred and thirty-five feet, to
the East River. Later, he went to Rochester to jump the Genesee
Falls, but the police prevented him. On the morning of Novem-
ber 7, 1886, he appeared at Niagara Falls. He climbed up on the
iron railing of the upper suspension bridge, knocked some ice
from under his feet to secure firm footing, and at the signal of
a pistol-shot sprang into the air. In four seconds he struck the
river, two hundred feet below. He was kept under by the cur-
rent, to come to the surface sixty feet from where he struck the
water. The shock broke one of his ribs and made him insensible,
but he was rescued and resuscitated. On August 7, 1888, he
jumped from Hungerford Bridge, in England, and was drowned.
He was then but twenty-six years old.

Stephen Peere, of Suspension Bridge village, some years ago
stretched a steel cable across the gorge a few rods north of the
railway suspension bridge and made various passages, usually
with large audiences. In 1878 he jumped into the river from the
bridge. He came to a tragic end by jumping, or falling, over the
bank, June 25, 1887. His cable still spans the river, and iias
tempted several rope-walkers to show their skill.

Shortly after Peere's death, J. E. De Leon advertised that
he would walk it. He got out about thirty feet from shore,
apparently became frightened, and after a very amateurish per-
formance on suspended rings, slid down a rope into the bushes
and quit.

On September 6, 1890, Samuel J. Dixon, a Toronto photog-
rapher, crossed the gorge on this same tempting wire, and gave

(iri)

172" JSriAGABA FALLS.

a very fair equilibrist exhibition This wire cable is three-quar-
ters of an inch thick and nine hundred and twenty-three feet long.

OTHER PERFORMANCES.

Of late years there have been many performances at Niagara
of a sensational character. They have ranged all the way from
the throwing of a dummy man from the railway suspension
bridge — a puerile experiment which for a time made many peo-
ple who saw it think a man had fallen into the river — to the wild
hazard undertaken by Joel R. Robinson in 1861, or the tragic
bravery of Captain Webb.

All in all, Joel Robinson is the most interesting figure con-
nected with the history of adventure at Niagara Falls. His trip
with the steamer Maid of the Mist has been world-famous ever
since he achieved it, in 1861. The Maid was built to ply, as a
predecessor of the same name had done, as a ferry and excursion
steamer at the foot of the Falls. The business did not pay, and
it was decided to hazard a trip to Lewiston, seven miles, on the
wildest river man ever undertook to navigate, for the purpose of
selling her. Joel R. Robinson was the pilot, and there was an
engineer and assistant. The fearful trip was accomplished,
and quickly, too, though with much injury to the boat. It is
related of the brave Robinson, who died a few years later, that he
came home from the trip looking twenty years older than when
he set out. He was a courageous man, the hero of several daring
rescues at Niagara, and his name will always have an honored
place in the chronicles of the great river.

The Whirlpool is not far behind the Falls themselves in advent- *
urous interest. Indeed, most of the "experiments" of recent
years have had this great basin in the gorge for their principal
theater. Accounts are preserved, too, of dramatic incidents which
occurred there while the whole region was a wild frontier. Away
back in 1811,. a dare-devil British soldier, who was logging near
the Whirlpool, got afloat on a log, and was carried about in the
pool for several hours, finally making land in safety.

There is no record of any attempted boat-passage through the
Whirlpool before Robinson made it in 1861; nor was there any
for several years following. Then an era of Whirlpool-fooling

NIAGABA FALLS. 173

set in which presumably is not ended, for there's much truth in
the saying that " the fools are not all dead yet."

On August 28, 1887, Charles A. Percy, of Suspension Bridge,
N. Y., made a successful trip through the Whirlpool Rapids in a
life-boat of his own construction. It was seventeen feet long
and four feet ten inches wide, and was covered entirely with
canvas. It contained two air-chambers, in which the occupant
could hide himself, leaving the boat to the mercy of the current.
This is what Percy did, on the day named. Securely tucked
away in his air-chamber, he drifted down the Whirlpool Rapids
and across the Whirlpool, happily avoiding bad eddies, and
landed without harm.

The next June (1888), Percy and Robert W. Flack, of Syra-
cuse, signed truly remarkable articles of agreement "for a race
through the Whirlpool Rapids in their respective life-boats, for
five hundred dollars a side." Flack's boat was fifteen feet long,
four feet nine inches wide, and thirty-four inches deep. It had
no air-cushions, but much cork was used in its construction. The
race was set for August 1, 1888. On July 4tli of that year. Flack
undertook a trial trip. Securely strapped into his boat, which
was the first open craft in which such an attempt was ever made,
he started from the old Maid of the Mist landing. Thousands of
people were on bridges and cliffs to watch the venture. Flack
went down-stream gaily enough, for he had great faith in the
qualities of his boat, the Phantom. Three minutes after it set
out the craft capsized, and was carried into the Whirlpool
bottom upward. When Percy and others secured it, one hour
later, from the Whirlpool eddies. Flack's dead body, a mere
bruised mass of flesh, was found still securely strapped to the seat.

Since the cruise of the Phantom, no "life-boat" has been tested
in the Whirlpool Rapids.

Capt. Matthew Webb, the great English swimmer, undertook
to swim down the Whirlpool Rapids and through the Whirlpool,
July 24, 1883. How far he went alive is not known. Several
places are shown by officious guides where he was last seen alive.
His body was recovered four days after, at Lewiston.

August 22, 1886, a Boston policeman named Kendall visited
the Falls, and by wearing a life-preserver, actually swam — or was

174 NIAGABA FALLS.

borne by the current — through the Whirlpool Rapids and across
the Whirlpool, where he managed to reach the shore, exhausted.
His feat, however, is in no sense comparable to Webb's under-
taking, for Webb entered the water wearing only a breech-cloth,
and relying solely upon his own extraordinary prowess.

Less daring souls, too, having in view cheap fame and a possi-
ble financial return, have "navigated" the Whirlpool snugly
hidden in great barrels built for the purpose. The first ingenious
gentleman who accomplished the passage, July 11, 1886, was
Carlisle D. Graham, a cooper of Philadelphia. August 19, 1886,
Graham made another successful trip. Emulating him, came
Messrs. Potts and Hazlitt, coopers of Buffalo, who tucked them-
selves into a barrel together and made the passage August 8,
1886; and finally, Mr, Potts and a relative, Miss Sadie Allen,
accomplished it. So far as known, Miss Allen is the only living
woman who ever went through the Whirlpool, a unique honor
which no doubt she fully enjoys. When it is remembered that
these barrels are massive affairs of oak, ballasted and rigged with
many small contrivances, and that the current runs at such a rate
that the entire passage lasts scarcely more than twenty minutes,
the valor of the barrel navigators is seen to be of a rather cheap
kind after all.

When one jumps from the brink of the great cataract or
either of the three great bridges which span the river in this
vicinity, or is drawn into the rapids above the Falls, his body is
sometimes lost entirely, and is never seen again; or, if it is
recovered at all, it is a long time afterward, and only after it has
gone through the Whirlpool Rapids, the Whirlpool, and the rapids
at Foster's Flats. It is then generally picked up in the eddies
and coves that are made by the river after it debouches from the
gorge at Queenston Heights, Here the ferrymen plying between
Lewiston and Queenston are ever on the alert for these ghastly
human "finds," which, when found, are caught, pulled in shore,
and buried until the friends of the deceased come in search of
them, or offer rewards for their recovery. At the mouth of one
of the little gorges that jut into the river from the Queenston
side are three unmarked lonely graves; there still rests at least
one of these sombre " finds " awaiting reclamation. Indeed, from

Niagara falls. 175

the cataract down to Queenston there is hardly a green spot, a
shady nook, a jutting rock, or a dark hollow that has not
associated with it the tale of some tragedy that has been enacted
within the sound of the noisy, turbulent waters of this river of
death.

One of the strangest fatalities of recent years befell L. G.
DeWitt, of New York. He visited the Falls February 28, 1886.
That most prominent winter feature, the ice-mountain at the foot
of the American Fall, was then a prime attraction. Refusing the
services of a guide, Mr. DeWitt climbed the ice-mountain alone,
rashly ventured across a great crevice, and walked so far out on
the hollowed crust of the ice-mound that it gave way and plunged
him down over forty feet into an abyss from which there was no
escape. He lodged on a narrow shelf of ice part way down the
face of the ice-mountain. In front of him was the overwhelm-
ing curtain of the American Fall. Soon after he fell, many tons
of ice broke from the mound above and buried him from sight.
In a few days, however, the body became exposed to view from
the cliff above. Such crowds of people hazarded their lives to
catch a glimpse of the mangled remains, far below, that Superin-
tendent Welch of the State Park felt it his duty, if possible, to
recover the body. After considering and trying various plans,
resort was had to tunneling. A tunnel five feet high, four feet
in diameter, and about seventy-five feet long was laboriously cut
through the mountain. As it approached the side of the mount-
ain next the Falls, the work became hazardous in the extreme.
After four days of tunneling the body was recovered.

It is sometimes urged that the reputation of Niagara Falls is
damaged by the fool-hardy gentlemen who try to prove that they
can do something which wiser men will not attempt. Not so.
There might be work for a coroner's jury down at Lewiston every
day in the year without detracting from the sublimity of the Niag-
ara. The infinite dignity of nature remains unassailed.

As the foregoing record proves, the mania for the hazardous
at Niagara is not of recent origin. As long as there are high
falls, swift rivers, high bridges, and deep waters, there will be
Blondins to stretch ropes and walk, Sam Patches and Steve Bro-
dies to jump, Grahams and Pottses and Hazlitts to risk all for

176 JSflAGABA FALLS.

nothing. Fate is tempted variously — by some men with skill, by
others with sheer fool-hardiness. There is always opportunity for
men to stake their little aggregation of animal tissues against the
law of gravitation; and gravitation, it is remarked, usually gets
the better of the animal tissues, bones, brain, and all, in the loog
run — or perhaps we should say, in the long drop.

Because a man is willing, however, to try what most people
do not dare to try, it is not therefore well to call him a fool. The
chances are that he is, but it is pleasanter to "allow "that he
isn't. History may prefer to call him a bold pioneer in some-
thing or other. There may be things vastly more foolish than the
navigation of the Niagara Whirlpool. No great world's traffic
wants to travel that way, as was the case with the wild rapids of
the St. Lawrence. But it is human nature to conquer for the
sake of conquering. Science and art both wait for a more inti-
mate acquaintance with the four or five miles of the deep Niag-
ara's gorge where the passage is angriest. The excursion man-
ager waits, too. It is no more chimerical to admit the possibility
of safe navigation of the Niagara from the Falls to Lewiston, than
it would have been, years ago, to have predicted the Brooklyn
Bridge, the electric light, or any recent human conquest over
nature. It is now possible to view the grandeur of the Whirlpool
Rapids and the beauties of the route as viewed from electric
trains running through the gorge, at the water's edge, from the
Falls to Lewiston and the historic towns at the placid mouth of
the river.

NEIGHBOEING POINTS.

AMERICAN SIDE.

Grand Island is three miles distant from the Falls. Here the
once celebrated Major Mordecai M. Noah of New York designed
to build the "City of Ararat" as a place of refuge for the scat-
tered tribes of Israel. In 1825 he even went so far as to prepare
for the laying of a corner-stone. The stone, engraved in Hebrew,
was got ready, but was never taken to Grand Island. Ceremonies
were held, by permission, in the old St. Paul's Church in Buffalo;
the stone reposed for years in the the rear of the church, and now
is preserved by the Buffalo Historical Society.

J^IAGABA FALLS. 177

At the foot of Grand Island lies Buckhorn Island, with an
area of about two hundred and fifty acres. Between these two,
and about three miles above the Falls, is an arm of the river called
Burnt Ship Bay, from a circumstance connected with the War of
1759. The garrison at Schlosser had already made a brave resist-
ance to one attack of the English, and were preparing for another,
when, disheartened by the news of the fall of Quebec, they decided
to destroy the two armed vessels containing their military stores.
Accordingly, they brought them to this bay and burned them.
Portions of the vessc'ls are visible under water even at this day.

Duiing the summer several steamers run regularly between
Buffalo and points on Grand Island. A most enjoyable excur-
sion, usually made about once a week, is from Buffalo around
Grand Island, the steamer passing between Grand and Navy
islands. From the foot of these islands the rapids above the Falls
and the rising spray are plainly visible.

Navy Island, which is on the Canada side of the boundary,
contains three hundred and forty acres. It is owned by a num-
ber of gentlemen who use it as a club resort during the hunting
and fishing season. It M^as a headquarters of the "Patriots " dur-
ing the Patriot War of 1837.

Tonawanda, eleven miles above the Falls, is largely given over
to the lumber transfer business, though it has some saw^-mills.
Including its suburbs of Sawyer Creek, Martinsville, and Grat-
wick, Tonawanda covers nine square miles and has thirteen
thousand inhabitants. Tonawanda Creek is the boundary-line
between Tonawanda and North Tonawanda. The Erie Canal
passes through the place, and skirts the bank of the Niagara
River to Buffalo. At Gratwick are large iron-furnaces.

The village of La Salle, five miles above the Falls, at the
mouth of Ca^'uga Creek, was named after Robert Cavelier de
La Salle, who at this point, in 1679, built his vessel, the never-to-
be-forgotten Griffin.

Just below, on the American shore, two miles above the Falls,
is Schlosser Landing, the end of the portage from Lewiston. This
terminus was gradually fortified till it became a fort, called Fort
de Portage. This was burned by Joncaire on his retreat, in 1759.
In 1761 Captain Schlosser, of the British army, rebuilt it stronger

178 NIAGABA FALLS.

than ever. He named it after himself, and died there. Here, in
1837, the steamer Caroline was attacked, set on fire, and sent over
the Falls. The Patriot movement being put down in Canada,
the leaders established themselves on Navy Island. Visitors
thereto being numerous, the Caroline, a small steamer, was
brought down from Buffalo, as a private venture, it was believed,
to serve as a ferry or freight boat. The Canadians, thinking the
boat was chartered by the Patriots for offensive operations against
Canada, at midnight, December 29, 1837, dispatched a chosen
band of men under Captain Drew, in eight boats, to destroy her.
As she lay at Schlosser Dock she was boarded by these parties.
Those on board — crew as well as some who, unable to get beds in
the little hotel, had got berths on board — were attacked. All but
one escaped to shore, he being shot dead. The gallant band hav-
ing thus succeeded in their attack, set the vessel on fire, towed her
out into the stream and let her drift. It was a grand sight. A
mass of flames, she floated down the river and entered the Rapids;
but before she reached the head of the island the water con-
quered and extinguished the flames. The smoke-stack, it is said,
still lies at the bottom of the river, near Schlosser.

The old stone chimney on the river bank, one and one-fourth
miles above the Falls, was built in 1750, and was the first stone
structure erected in this part of the country. It was the chimney
of the barracks of the French fort called " Little Fort," which
was burned by Joncaire when compelled to retreat, in 1759. It
was rebuilt two years afterward as an adjunct to Fort Schlosser.
The chimney now stands in excellent preservation.

Kext come the Falls themselves, fully described before.

Three and one-half miles below the Falls, on the American side,
is the Devil's Hole, a gloomy and rugged chasm in the bank of the
river, between one hundred and two hundred feet deep. Over-
hanging this dark cavern is a perpendicular precipice, from the
top of which falls a small stream, usually dry in summer, named
the "Bloody Run," which takes its name from being turned to a
bloody stream during the fight described below.

This chasm was cut by this stream continuously flowing into it,
aided naturally by the enormous force of the Falls when they
were at this point. During the French war in 1765, a detachment

NIAGABA FALLS. 179

of the British was decoyed into an ambush here by the French
and Indians. The war-whoop of tlie savages was the first indica-
tion of danger. Officers, men, women, children, and wagons were
pushed over the bank into the chasm below. Two hundred and
fifty people were killed. Only two persons escaped — a drummer,
who was caught in a branch of a tree in his fall, and John Sted-
man (the same who put the goats upon Goat Island), who spurred
his horse and ran the gauntlet of bullets to a place of safety.

The Tuscarora Indian Reservation is seven miles northeast
from the Falls. Driven from their original seats in North Caro-
lina, this tribe came to New York in 1712, and became merged in
the Confederacy of the Iroquois. In the Revolutionary War part
of them favored the English, and part remained neutral. Those
of the Tuscaroras and Oneidas who had been allies of the English
left Oneida Lake, came down the Oswego River, and coasted
along Lake Ontario to the British garrison at Fort Niagara. In
the spring part of them returned, and part of them took possession
of a mile square upon the mountain ridge, given them by the Sene-
cas, one tribe of the Six Nations, The Holland Land Company
gave them two square miles more, and in 1804 sold them four thou-
sand three hundred and twenty-nine acres, this forming the estate
upon which the Tuscaroras are now located. Whoever visits them
expecting to see anything barbaric or savage will be disappointed.
They are, for the most part, a well-behaved, moderately prosperous
farming community, with churches and schools. A few years
ago their chief, Mountpleasant, died; but his widow, sometimes
called the "Queen of the Tuscaroras," is a very capable and intelli-
gent woman, of great influence in the tribe, and respected by all
who know her. The Tuscaroras are far thriftier than their Seneca
brothers on the Cattaraugus and Allegany Reservations, in West-
ern New York.

Indians are nowadays seldom seen at Niagara Falls, although
Indian bead and basket work, for the most part made on the Tus-
carora Reservation, is offered in abundance.

The bluff, or top of the mountain, six miles from the Falls, so
geologists tell us, was the shore of Lake Ontario; a fact which
seems to be undisputed. Near here are the remains of old Fort
Grey, Lewiston, seven miles below the Falls, was named in honor

180 Niagara falls.

of Governor Lewis of New York. It is at the foot of the mount-
ain. La Salle built a cabin of palisades here in 1678, and this
was the commencement of the portage whose upper terminus was
Fort Schlosser, and which passed over nearly the present roads, a
part of which is still called the Portage Road. Up the mountain-
side here was built the first railroad in the United States. It wus
built entirely of wood, the rails being broad and flat. The car ran
on runners instead of wheels. It was raised and lowered by a
windlass, and carried heavy goods up and down. It was a rude
work, but answered its purpose perfectly. A horse-car railroad
along the mountain-side succeeded the windlass tramway, and pre-
ceded by a dozen years the construction of the steam railway at
this point.

Fourteen miles from the Falls, at the mouth of the river,
stands Fort Niagara, which was established as a trading-post by
La Salle in 1678. In 1687 De Nouville built the fort proper for
the prosecution of a war on the Iroquois in defense of the Indian
allies of the Western country. The next year it was abandoned,
but in 1825 was rebuilt in stone, by the consent of the Iroquois.
The English General Prideaux was killed here in 1759, and after
the battle the French surrendered it to Sir William Johnson. It
is now a United States fort, regularly garrisoned. Here is the
famous dungeon where, in 1824, Morgan, of anti-Masonic fame,
was said to have been confined, and whence, it was claimed, he
was taken to be drowned in the lake.

CANADIAN SIDE.

Fort Erie is at the mouth of the river, on Lake Erie, twenty-
two miles from the Falls. From the fort, on September 17, 1814, the
Americans made the famous sortie, defeating the British besiegers
and compelling them to raise the siege. A ferry runs from
Buffalo to Fort Erie every half hour during the season. The
ruins of the fort, and the grove on the lake shore above, are popu-
lar resorts, and are connected by a lake-shore railway with a
second ferry, a mile down the river, which runs to the foot of
Ferry Street, Buffalo. This historic Canadian shore is Buffalo's
Coney Island, but its fine natural attractions are but little devel-
oped. A mile farther down is the International Railway Bridge,

NIAGABA FALLS. 181

used chiefly by the Grand Trunk Railway. Below, a noticeable
object on the Canadian shore is a pretty Episcopal church, which
is built in part of stones taken from the ruins of Fort Erie.

The village of Chippewa is two miles above the Falls, In the
field south of it, on July 5, 1814, was fought the battle of Chip-
pewa, which resulted in a victory for the Americans. In the early
days of the century it was much visited by tourists en route to
the Falls, and bid fair to become an important town; but now it is
utterly dead, visited only by an occasional artist in search of the
picturesque, and by fishermen.

Lundy's Lane Battle-ground is one mile west of the Falls. On
July 25, 1814, the decisive battle of the war between the tJnited
States and England was fought here, the loss on both sides in
killed and wounded being eighteen hundred, the Americans being
victorious.

The village of Drummondville is about one-half mile west of
the Falls, and is so called in honor of General Drummond.

Brock's Monument is on Queenston Heights, six miles below
the Falls. It is a handsome shaft, erected to perpetuate the mem-
ory of Gen. Isaac Brock, who fell here in 1813. The first monu-
ment was built in 1826, and was one hundred and twenty -six feet
high. This was destroyed by explosion on the night of April 17,
1838, and was replaced by the present structure in 1853. It is
one hundred and eighty-five feet in height, the base being forty
feet square and thirty feet high. Four lions, facing the cardinal
points of the compass, rest on this as well as on a pedestal sixteen
feet square by ten feet high, ornamented in alto-relievo by lions'
heads alternated by wreaths. The shaft is of freestone, seventy-
five feet high by thirty feet in circumference, having a Corinthian
capital ten feet in height, carrying in relief a statue of the
Goddess of War. Over this is a round dome seven feet in height,
surmounted by Brock's statue, which can be reached by two
hundred and fifty spiral steps starting from the interior of the base,

A tablet in the wall of the present shaft tells the visitor that
"a monument was originally erected on this spot by a grant from
the Parliament of this Province, and subsequently destroyed in
the year 1838. The present monument was erected chiefly by the
voluntary contributions of the Militia and Indian warriors of this
13

182

NIAGARA FALLS.

Province, aided by a grant from the Legislature, the authority for
the erection of the same being delegated to a committee of four-
teen," of which Sir Allan Napier MacNab, Bart., was chairman,
William Thomas was the architect, and John Worthington the
builder. The former monument stood a few rods to the east of

View of the Gorge from the International Belt Line.

the present one, close to the steep side of the hill. The view from
the monument grounds is of unsurpassed beauty, embracing the
garden-like lowlands stretching to Lake Ontario, seven miles to
the north. No one who loves nature, or who delights to visit the
spots made famous in American history, should fail to spend an
hour on Queenston Heights.

JSFIAGABA FALLS. 183

The old town of Queenston, named in honor of Queen Char-
lotte, lies at the foot of the hill. Several of its substantial stone
buildings antedate the War of 1812. The spot where General
Brocli fell, near the base of the descent, is marked by a monument
which was erected by the Prince of Wales, and set in place with
ceremony on the occasion of the Prince's American tour in 1860.

Between Queenston and Niagara village, the railroad (Niagara
branch of the Michigan Central) carries the traveler through the
edge of a beautiful piece of woodland overlooking the river, called
Paradise Grove.

Niagara, otherwise called Old Niagara, or Niagara-on-the-
Lake, rivals Fort Niagara across the river in historic interest. In
1792 it became the residence of the Lieutenant-Governor of
Canada, and the first session of the Parliament of the Upper Prov-
ince was held there. It is on the site of the village of Newark,
burned by General McClure in 1813. One of the earliest printing-
presses in Upper Canada (now Ontario) was set up here. The
visitor should not fail to see its old church, St. Marks, built 1802,
and surrounded with a quaint and ancient graveyard. Niagara
is one of the most popular resorts on the river, alike for Canadians
and residents of the States.

The Toronto steamers, the Cibola and Chicora, touch at its
wharf on their way up to Lewistou. Other steamers run at fre-
quent intervals from Lewiston, connecting with trains and the
Toronto boats.

Just above Niagara village is old Fort George, captured by
the Americans— General Dearborn commanding— in 1812. It was
destroyed by General McClure the next year, and has never been
rebuilt.

Fort Mississaga is a prominent object, of no possible use as a
means of defense, which stands below the town, near the mouth
of the river. A wide common surrounds it, which is occasionally
used for militia maneuvers. The annual tour of field duty of
Ontario militia, and their summer camp, is usually located above
the town, near Paradise Grove.

The Niagara & Queenston Land and Improvement Co., cap-
ital stock nine hundred thousand dollars, is a wealthy syndicate,
chiefly of Toronto men, which has acquired, by purchase or

184 JsriAGABA Falls.

option, about fifteen hundred, acres of river-front lands near
Lewiston, and about as much more on the Canadian side. Among
improvements which it contemplates are electric-light plants and
electric railways connecting points of interest on the lower river.

THE ^^ CANADIAN CHAUTAUQUA."

On the Lake Ontario shore, near Old Niagara, Ontario, are
the pleasant grounds and buildings of the Niagara Assembly,
often called the Canadian Chautauqua. The Hotel Chautauqua is
a large structure, not yet completed according to original plans,
but in use since 1887, which was the first season of the Assembly.
From the hotel, thirty miles across Lake Ontario, Toronto is
faintly visible in clear weather. On the grounds are numerous
cottages, a fine oak grove, through which avenues converge, like
the spokes of a wheel, to the Amphitheater. Lansdowne Lake»
in the grounds, has its outlet into Ontario. The "season" here
consists of schools, popular lectures, etc., after the approved
Chautauqua fashion. It is especially popular with Canadians.

Not to be confused with this institution is

WESLEY PARK.

This resort, one of the pleasantest and most popular in the
neighborhood, was started with the view to making it a sort of
Canadian Chautauqua. It is in charge of a company known as
the Wesley Park Association, and comprises pleasant grounds on^
both sides of the Michigan Central Eailway, and reaching to the
river, in the southern part of the village of Clifton. An audito-
rium has been erected, and the grounds have been tastefully laid
out. A camp-meeting has been held there every summer since
1886, and every year sees new cottages and other improvements.

The Welland Canal, with its new water-way and grand locks,
just finished, runs almost parallel with the Niagara River, eight
miles west of it. It was the opening of this canal, with other
lesser causes, that diverted traffic from the Lower Niagara, and
put its towns into a Rip Van Winkle sleep which is even yet dis-
turbed only by summer tourists and local enterprises for their
enjoyment.

NiAGABA Falls. 185

SUGGESTIONS TO VISITORS.

These constitute Niagara Falls and their surroundings; and,
in conclusion, let us say: If you come to stay only a day, don't
think you can see everything named above unless at a large ex-
pense. If you come to see Niagara Falls, insist on seeing them
first, then select from the outside places any that you desire. If
you are going to spend a Aveek here — and certainly to appreciate
and understand Niagara one should stay that long — visit daily the
two or three principal points, and spend plenty of time at them.
Take in one of the other attractions each day. By so doing you
will appreciate them all, and will not go away feeling that you
have been beaten out of your money, or that Niagara is such a
very expensive place.

If, after viewing the real object of interest, the Falls them-
selves, the visitor chooses to extend his excursions into the sur-
rounding country, he will be amply repaid for his excursions; but
he should distinctly understand that these are not the Falls, but
the country about the Falls — spots which are pleasant, but not
necessary for him who comes simply to view the great wonder of
Niagara to visit.

At no place that we know of are such favorable terms given to
excursionists, thousands coming annually on excursions, and see-
ing, we may say, everything for a very small sum.

The visitor should remember that in crossing to Canada he
passes beyond the jurisdiction of the village trustees, and that if
he is wronged by people there, he has, on the American side, no
method of redress. He should remember, also, that upon all
goods brought into Canada there are large duties.

With these few words, we deem the visitor amply informed.
"We recommend him to use the same good sense here that he uses
at home; to inquire the price of an article before he buys it, and,
if too costly, to let it alone, rather than buy it and then go away
grumbling; to inquire the price of a carriage before he engages
it, and to understand that in no case is the charge more than one
dollar and fifty cents per hour. He should expect to pay a fair
price for all he receives, not to be continually trying to cheapen
13

186

J^iAGABA Falls.

everything; for, as surely as lie endeavors to do so, so surely
will the advantage be taken of him. Any gentleman or lady
who will carefully read and follow the above advice and direc-
tions, will never have reason to regret a visit to Niagara Falls.

HINTS FOR SEEING NIAGARA.

The visitor to Niagara Falls should come prepared to remain,
for it is not one of those spots which can be " done" in a day;
and the mere excursionist, who comes in the "early train" and

The Rapids.

leaves by the "night express," has merely the boast that he has
"been to the Falls." If this be the tourist's object, he can ac-
complish it almost as satisfactorily by going east or west by way
of the Falls, getting out during the few moments of the train's
stop at Falls View, and then climbing back into the car. One of
the chief charms of the magnificent cataract is that it grows upon
one, that familiarity does not breed contempt, but that it is more

NIAGABA FALLS. 187

impressive on the last day of a month's sojourn in its neighbor-
hood than upon the first day. The first sight is usually disap-
pointing, for the spectacle is so sublime and overwhelming that
the mind, unable to grasp it, can not adjust itself at once to a
scale so stupendous, and the impression fails. But gradually, in
the silence of the night, and during the drowsy quiet of the long
summer day, the unvarying, ponderous, unspeakably solemn
voice of the great flood finds its way into the soul, and holds it
with an awful fascination which is all pervasive and can not be
shaken off.

And there is another reason why a day is insufiicient for see-
ing Kiagara. Between sunrise and sunset one may drive to every
spot described in this book, between the "Whirlpool and Dufferin
Islands, and may do all the things that are usually done by visit-
ors; but the time allotted to each point can not but be inadequate,
when each point has suflficient interest to hold one's attention for
hours.

It is a good plan for one whose time is limited to take a van
in the morning for the tour of the Keservation, descending the
Biddle Staircase en route, and on returnicg to Prospect Park
descend to the foot of American Fall, and take the trip in the
Maid of tlie Mist, going back to the hotel for luncheon on the
return. In the afternoon a carriage may be hired from one of
the responsible liverymen for a visit to the Canadian shore, cross,
ing the new suspension bridge and driving through the Queen
Victoria Park to Dufferin Islands and back; continuing past the
new suspension bridge and the two bridges at Clifton to the
Whirlpool and the Whirlpool Rapids, and returning thence via
either of the suspension bridges.

Such a trip should consume not more than three hours, the
time required depending, of course, upon the time spent at each
place of stoppage. The cost would be as follows:

Carriage, two or more persons, three hours $2.50

New Suspension Bridge toll (carriage, one visitor, and the driver) 75

Drive through Dufferin Islands (caniage and aU its occupants) 50

Elevator at "WTiirlpool Rapids (each person) 50

Railway Suspension Bridge toll (carriage, one visitor, and the driver) .... .45

Total $4.70

188' JSriAGABA FALLS.

The visitor should remember that he is not compelled any-
where to buy anything unless he wishes to, and he should not
allow his driver or anyone else to prevail against his will. It may
be well also to note that he will be compelled to declare to the
customs officers at each end of the bridges anything dutiable that
he carries from one country to the other.

The cost of the morning excursion would be:

Reservation van (each person) , $ .25

Cave of the Winds, with guide and dress (each person) i.oo

Inclined railway, Prospect Park (each person) 10

Trip on the Maid of the Mist (each person) 50

Total $1.85

A total cost of six dollars and fifty-five cents for seeing about
everything that can be seen at Niagara in one day, with the
exception of the trip behind the Horseshoe Fall on the Canada
side, which can be added for fifty cents.

A USEFUL ITINERARY.

In the following itinerary is presented in outline a method by
which two weeks may be profitably spent by the visitor, with-
out once revisiting the same spot, except incidentally:

Visit Prospect Park and Goat Island, familiarizing yourself
with general outline of points of interest.

TUESDAY.

In the morning visit Goat Island, lingering at Luna Island
and its stairway.

In the afternoon take a trip down the inclined railway (charge
ten cents) at Prospect Park, and upon the steamer Maid of the
Mist (charge fifty cents, including dress).

WEDNESDAY.

In the morning visit Goat Island, taking a forest walk to the
Terrapin Rocks, and hriejly visiting Three Sisters Islands.

In the afternoon take the forest walk to the Biddle Staircase,
and go through the Cave of the Winds.

NIAGABA FALLS. 189

THURSDAY.

In the morning visit the upper end of Goat Island, taking with
you an interesting book or paper, and alternately reading and
enjoying the views; return to your hotel for dinner.

In the afternoon visit the new suspension bridge; through
Queen Victoria Jubilee Park to Table Rock, stopping at Table
Rock Ledge, and thence to the Dufferin Islands, returning to the
hotel to supper at six o'clock (expense for carriage and tolls for
each person, two dollars and fifty cents up to two persons — less
for more than two). The first time you go you may drive, after
that walk.

FRIDAY.

Take a carriage and drive down the bank of tbe river on -tlie
American side, taking your lunch, and stopping at Bloody Run;
thence to the heights above Lewiston, commanding a most mag-
nificent view of the windings of the river and the lovely valley of
the Lower Niagara and of Lake Ontario, returning to the hotel at
six o'clock (cost of carriage for one or more, six dollars; no tolls).
The same trip may be made more economically via the New York
Central Railway in the river-view trains, which are equipped
during the summer with handsome observation cars. The cost
for the round trip is twenty -five cents.

SATURDAY.

In the morning, having familiarized yourself now with the
way, cross the new bridge (cost per person over and return,
twenty-five cents), and take one of the vans running through the
Park to Table Rock (cost, each person, ten cents), and walk thence
to the Dufferin Islands, taking your lunch with you and spending
the entire day among the islands.

SUNDAY.

Excellent churches, of all the principal denominations, may be
found in the village, where visitors are always made welcome.

MONDAY.

Yisit the Whirlpool and the Whirlpool Rapids, on the Canada
side, taking along your lunch, and passing the morning at the
Whirlpool Rapids, and the afternoon at the Whirlpool.

190^ NIAGABA FALLS.

TUESDAY.

Order your lunch put up for you the night before, and taking
it with you in the morning, enter the New York Central train for
Lewiston, and thence by steamer to Fort Niagara, on Lake Onta-
rio, and return in time for supper. This is one of tlie most beau-
tiful trips about the Falls, as the railroad runs along the bank of
the river, commanding many most beautiful views of the Whirl-
pool and the Rapids, and the magnificent scenery of the lower
river. Expense of round trip, one dollar per person.

WEDNESDAY.

In the morning M^alk about the State Park, along the bank to
the Upper Rapids, lingering on the way to obtain many beautiful
views of tlife river.

In the afternoon drive along the upper river on the American
side of La Salle, through a most delightful section of country, and
in full view of the river. (Cost of drive, four dollars for carriage
for party.)

THURSDAY.

Take a carriage, having your lunch with you, and drive on
the Canadian side to the historic battle-field of Queenston and
the monument erected to General Brock at Queenston Heights.
This is, in its historical features, one of the most interesting trips
at the Falls, and the outlook from the Heights is grand. (Car-
riage for entire day for party of five, seven dollars.)

FBIDAY.

After the long drive of Thursday you will find it most restful
to read or sit upon the cool hotel piazzas, or make, possibly, a
short visit to Prospect Park, the afternoon being passed in writing
10 your friends.

SATURDAY.

Take a carriage and your luncheon, and cross the new sus-
pension bridge to visit Lundy's Lane battle-grounds, passing
thence to what is unquestionably the most beautiful drive about
Niagara — the Canadian river-bank up to the village of Chippewa,
and thence to the upper river, commanding a wide prospect of
the Islands, and returning thence through the Dufferin Islands.
(Expense of carriage per day for party, six dollars.)

JSriAGAHA FALLS. 191

These suggestions could be greatly extended by the details of
trips upon the upper river, where there is even better fishing than
at the Thousand Islands, and, of course, each of the spots above
named may be visited more than once; but enough has been said
to show that Niagara is fertile in attractions for the "vacation
tourist."

It should also be borne in mind that upon the visits to the
Whirlpool and the Whirlpool Rapids, Islands, Canadian side,
Queen Victoria Park, Dufferin Islands, cheaper means of transpor-
tation than carriages is offered by the street railways and vans,
which are not so exclusive, but fairly comfortable and less ex-
pensive.

We give below the distances from principal hotels to points of
interest:

DISTANCES FROM PRINCIPAL HOTELS.

Canada American
side. side.

Around Goat Island 2 miles. 1^4 miles.

" Prospect Park 1 " V^ "

To New Suspension Bridge M " J4 "

"Railway " " 2 " 2 "

" Michigan Central Cantilever Bridge 1% " 1% "

'* Whirlpool Rapids 2^ " 2H "

"Whirlpool 2% " 3

"DeviPsHole 4 " 8% "

" Top of Mountain 7 " GVz •'

" Indian Village (Council House) 8!4 " 8 "

"TableRock ^ " — "

" " " via New Suspension Bridge, or Ferry — " 1^4 "

" " " via Railway Suspension Bridge — " 4% "

" Burning Spring lYt " — "

" " " via New Suspension Bridge — " 2H "

" " " via Railway Suspension Bridge — *' 6 "

" Limdy's Lane Battle-ground. 154 " 2 "

" Brock's Monument, Queenston Heights 7 " 7 "

192 NIAGABA FALLS.

THE INDUSTRIAL INTERESTS OF NIAGARA
FALLS.

Niagara Falls is undoubtedly destined to be a great manufac-
turing as well as distributing point. Hundreds of thousands of
tons of freight are brought thither daily to be shipped to all parts
of the world. Cars cross and recross the bridges all through the
day, and soon every railway of importance in the State of New
York will have tracks in the vicinity. The city is enterprising
and businesslike.

The possession of the most sublime and awe-inspiring
scenery on the American Continent does not necessarily make a
Niagara Falls native a dreamer; but, on the contrary, he is gentr-
ally found to be actuated by a remarkably keen desire to leave
some decided and commercial footpiints, if not on the "sands of
lime," still on the more durable andless impressionable rocky walls;
those walls which bound that whirling cream of eddy and surge
and backwater the deep diapason of whose Horseshoe fall is to
be heard for miles.

Probably from the very first discovery of the cataract ingen-
ious minds have been speculating how best to utilize some part of
the practically unlimited power without impairing the picturesque
value of the scene.

For many years it has been a matter of frequent comment
that at Niagara there existed an enormous water-power not util-
ized. Foreigners visiting the locality expressed their astonish-
ment that a people so inventive and enterprising as the Ameri-
cans should allow the unlimited power of Niagara to waste itself
away without attempting to divert a fraction of the force flowing
by their doors to increase the material prosperity of their coun-
try.

The feasibility of applying a portion of the power of the
cataract to the comfor;s and necessities of mankind has been dis-
cussed for many years by the scientists and manufacturers of
America, and several undertakings for the utilization of so much
of the water-power as the immediate locality required were car-
ried out by local enterprise; but the limited demand for water-

NIAGABA FALLS. 193

power in a comparatively new and undeveloped country, and tlie
existence of many small water-powers in the New England States
and other sections of the country, permitted this great natural
reservoir of power at Niagara to remain practically untouched
until the removal of the forests impaired, and in many instances
destroyed, the water-powers at other places.

THE OLD MILLS.

The early French explorers and traders, impressed by the
magnitude of the water-power at Niagara, built a mill beside the
rapids just above the Falls. In Colonial times the British selected
a site in the same neighborhood and erected a mill, used for
preparing timbers for fortifications along the river. Immediately
below were subsequently erected the Stedman and Porter mills,
the first structures of the kind on the Western frontier. These
were soon followed by the construction of two large raceways,
which were used by manufacturing establishments, as was also
Bath Island, situated in the rapids above the American Falls.

THE HYDRAULIC CANAL.

The water-power at Niagara was first utilized on a large scale
by the construction of the hydraulic canal, about three-quarters
of a mile in length, commencing at a point on the shore of the
river above the Falls, where the water is deep and navigable, and
terminating on the high bank of the gorge below the Falls. The
cliff along the bank of the river near the lower termination of
the canal is occupied by the large manufacturing establishments.

The Cataract Mill, the first mill established on the hydraulic
canal, was erected by Charles B. Gaskill in 1874. The capacity
of the mill has been largely increased. It now turns out 700 bar-
rels of flour per day. The canal became the property of Jacob
F. Schoellkopf, to whose enterprise and foresight the development
of Niagara Falls as a manufacturing center is largely due.

The erection of the flouring mill of Schoellkopf & Matthews
was commenced in 1877. It started with twenty -two run of
stone, and, by reason of the power and shipping facilities, became
so successful that it was necessary to increase the capacity. In
1881 it was remodeled, the stone replaced by rollers, and the
product increased to 3,000 barrels per day.

194 Mia GAB A Falls.

When the Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power & Manufacturing
Company became the owners of the hydraulic canal, other
manufacturing industries increased. The Niagara Wood Paper
Company erected a mill for the manufacture of wood pulp.
Owing to the abundant and steady power, the place proved to be
particularly well adapted to that industry, and a second mill was
soon after erected by John P. Quigley. A third mill, now the
property of the Cataract Manufacturing Company, was subse-
quently established. All of the pulp mills have since erected
additions fully as large as the first structures. The Niagara
Wood Paper Company and the Cliff Paper Company have added
machinery for the manufacture of paper.

When the mill of the Niagara Falls Paper Manufacturing
Company was appropriated by the State of New York at the estab-
lishment of the State Reservation at Niagara, in the year 1885,
the Pettebone Paper Company erected a larger and better mill, in
the milling district. In 1889 an addition to the establishment was
built and the capacity of the mill doubled.

The Oneida Community (limited) of Niagara Falls has estab-
lished one of the largest silver-plating works in the United
States, and has also added an extensive steel chain manufactory
to the establishment. The capacity of the works has been doubled
since their establishment.

Carter & Company (limited), manufacturers of counter check-
books, located at Niagara Falls when the goods were first intro-
duced. The establishment has been enlarged several times, and a
new building is now being erected to meet the increased demand.

A third flouring mill, "The Central," has been established,
with a capacity of 2,000 barrels per day. Schoellkopf & Mattbews'
Niagara Flouring Mill and the Central Flouring Mill, standing
side by side at Niagara Falls, arc the largest flouring mills east of
Minneapolis, and are almost continually run to their full capacity.

The establishment of the flouring mills necessitated the build-
ing of large cooper shops. All the barrels used by the mills are
manufactured in the mill district. This branch of industry gives
employment to a large number of men.

The business of the Brush Electric Light & Power Company,
organized in 1881, has continually increased.

NIAGABA FALLS. 195

The Niagara Falls Brewing Company's establishment is one of
the most successful and prosperous concerns of the kind in the
country. Since the erection of the buildings, additions have
been made sufficient to double its capacity.

The building of so many mills led to Ihe erection of Philpott
& Leuppie's machine shop, an extensive establishment located in
the heart of the mill district.

Every branch of business established during the past fifteen
years has been obliged by increased demand to double its capacity.

A summary of the yearly transactions of some of the various
branches of industry will illustrate the importance of Niagara
FaFs as a manufacturing center.

The flouring mills manufacture annually 942,000 barrels of
flour, value $4,710,000; employ 110 men, and pay out for wages
$66,000. The paper and pulp mills turn out 9,156 tons, value
$527,520; employ 126 persons, and pay out for wages $64,680.
The coDper shops employ 130 men, manufacture 603,600 barrels,
value $211,260, and pay out for wages $64,800. The Oneida
Community (limited) emplops 220 persons, and pays out for
wages $60,000; value of product, $200,000. Carter & Company
(limited) employ 161 persons, pay out in wages $49,400; value of
product, $350,000. The Niagara Falls Brewing Company em-
ploys 40 men, and pays out in wages $28,000; manufactures 40,000
barrel?, value $280,000. Philpott & Leuppie employ 16 men,
and pay $9,600 for wages.

These establishments are among the most prosperous in the
country, a fact largely due to the great superiority of the power
and the unexcelled shipping facilities at their command.

The railroad companies have been watchful of the rapid
growth of the manufacturing interests, and railroad sidings have
been laid to every mill door. Twenty-seven thousand cars of
mill freight are now handled every year.

The chain of the Great Lakes, the inexhaustible source of the
power, is unaffected by floods or droughts, the surface height of
the Niagara River is practically the same at all times, and the
lake water which constitutes the stream is of the purest quality.
There is nothing to interrupt the steady flow of the products of
these establishments, and being located as they are upon the

196 NIAOABA FALLS.

great highway of commerce between the East and West, where
the trunk lines of railway concentrate at the international rail-
way bridges, connecting the United States and Canada, the means
of obtaining the raw material, and the facilities for bringing the
products of the manufacturing establishments to the consumer,
are unexcelled.

THE GREAT GORGE ROUTE,

on the American side, runs from Niagara Falls to Lewiston, con-
necting with all railroads and steamboat lines from the East and
West, from Buffalo and Toronto.

This line is a marvel of skill and ingenuity in electric rail-
road building. Its cars start from the great Observation Tower,
opposite Prospect Park, and carry passengers down a gentle grade
on the side of the rocky gorge, reaching the main grade
only twenty feet above the water, near the great railroad bridges.
It passes along the wonderful Whirlpool Rapids, w^here they can
be seen completely from end to end. The Great Whirlpool
is skirted and seen from the most appreciated point, the water
level. The lower rapids, the longest, most beautiful, and the
least seen in the past, are shown in all their glory. The great
mystic cavern. The Devil's Hole, the caves along the route, the
old forts, battle grounds, and the ruins of the first Suspension
Bridge over Niagara Gorge, the first built in America, are among
the interesting points passed, while magnificent views of Queens-
ton Heights and Brock's monument are obtained, the scene of the
great battle of the War of 1812, the romantic scenery passing like
a panorama before one's gaze, ending up at the historic old vil-
lage of Lewiston, where direct connection is made with the
steamers for Toronto and all parts of Canada.

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